Wrong Place Wrong Time
by CheerfulChemist
Summary: I had intended this to be a one shot AU, but after some requests, I'm continuing it. What would have happened if Ryan's bullet had found Castle in 301? "Was that what you wanted to tell me, Kate?" Castle asked."Yeah," Beckett confided, "not that it would have changed anything." "It would have changed everything. Kate." I own nothing Castle, but love it all.
1. Chapter 1

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Maya Santori was dead. There was nothing Castle could do for her. Despite the gun with which she tried to defend her life, a murderer's bullets had found her. Castle was about to call Beckett when he heard the sounds from the next room.. Could the killer be back? He picked up Maya's gun seconds before Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan burst into the room, their guns trained on him.

"Gun!" Ryan yelled, seeing nothing but the weapon that faced him. His finger squeezed the trigger before he could see the face behind the gun.

"Ryan!" issued as a whisper from Castle's lips, even as surprise was frozen on his face.

Swallowing a sob, Beckett knelt at Castle's side, using her bare hands to staunch the flow of blood. "Call the paramedics!" she ordered Esposito as Ryan looked on in paralyzing shock.

Sirens screamed through the New York streets as Beckett followed the ambulance to the hospital, thoughts swirling through her head. What was Castle doing at a murder scene? Could he have killed Maya Santori? Beckett found that impossible to believe. But if not, why was he standing over her body with a gun? Beckett silently prayed that she'd have the opportunity to ask him.

Beckett paced the waiting room as Alexis and Martha sat clinging to each other. The doctor would talk only to them, as next of kin, but Beckett had been well able to overhear. Castle was in surgery. Ryan's bullet had shattered a rib, deflating a lung and causing massive internal bleeding. Making matters worse, Castle was AB negative, the rarest type in the United States, and the supply of replacement blood was low. The doctor had attempted to be encouraging, but his face was grim.

Beckett heard footsteps as Esposito came down the hall and entered the room. "How is he?" he asked.

Beckett closed her eyes and shook her head. "Still in surgery."

"Ballistics checked," Esposito reported. "Maya Santori was shot with a forty-five. Castle was holding a thirty-eight."

Beckett felt a breath she hadn't known she was holding whoosh from her lungs. "So Castle didn't do it."

"Did you really think he did?" Esposito questioned in surprise.

"No," Beckett replied, "but I'm a cop. He was standing over the body with a gun. How's Ryan?"

"He's very shook up," Esposito said. "Montgomery took his weapon and put him at a desk until the shooting investigation is completed. I can't imagine the department can beat him up anymore than he's beating up himself. Jenny took him home."

Beckett turned hesitantly to Martha. "Should I call - Gina?"

Martha sighed. "I tried. It went to voice mail. She may be on an airplane somewhere. She was making the arrangements for Richard's book tour. That's why Richard didn't come back to the precinct when he finished the book. He was supposed to have appearances all over the country for the next few weeks. He was going to call you when he was finished."

Beckett and Esposito looked at each other. Beckett buried her face in her hands. She had been so angry at Castle, thinking his silence meant he had abandoned her, with Ryan and Esposito angry in sympathy, but Castle had intended to return all along. Esposito touched her arm in an awkward attempt at comfort.

"I'm fine Javi," Beckett protested.

Esposito gave her a doubtful look but kept his silence.

Unable to think of anything else useful to do, Beckett went to a cart in the hospital lobby to buy coffee for Martha and hot chocolate for Alexis. She returned just as the doctor was approaching. Martha rose, fear in her eyes. "We stopped the bleeding," the doctor told Martha and Alexis softly, "but we were short a unit of blood. We put as much fluid as we could into him, but he's very weak. We have more units coming in and Mr. Castle will get what he needs as soon as they arrive. There was a lot of damage. The next forty-eight hours will be very important."

"Can we see him?" Martha asked.

"He's in recovery," the doctor replied. "We'll be taking him to I.C.U.." He glanced over at Beckett and Esposito. "I.C.U. is limited to immediate family. Someone will come to get you when he's settled," he added, turning back to Martha and Alexis.

"Thank you doctor," Martha said before turning to Beckett. "Katherine, I know you care about Richard. I'll let you know about anything I hear."

"Thank you, Martha," Beckett replied gratefully.

Martha pointed to the blood staining Beckett's clothes. "You should change. I'll call you."

Beckett nodded her assent, silently indicating to Esposito that she was leaving.

* * *

><p>Beckett sat on her desk staring at the murder board. Nothing made sense, The murders of a sculptor, a chemistry teacher, and a vending machine owner were related, but how? Ryan approached hesitantly. "Beckett, how's Castle?"<p>

"Martha said he's stable but critical. He's still in ICU so she and Alexis are the only ones allowed to see him. How are you?"

Ryan shook his head. "I don't know. For the last two days I've been going over and over it in my mind. I saw the body, I saw the gun. I didn't even see Castle's face, I just reacted. You and Javi knew it was him, why didn't I?"

"I don't know Kevin," Beckett replied softly, "but even if you had, he was standing over a body with a gun. Your response was conditioned by your training. I said so in my statement. When does the board meet?"

"This afternoon," Ryan answered. "I'll be leaving for 1PP soon."

Ryan began to walk away as Beckett called after him, "Ryan, good luck!"

Thoughts warred in Beckett's mind. Ryan was her friend and protegé. She wanted to support him and she was trying her best. But Castle! When she saw him walk away with Gina last summer it was if all the light in the room went with him. It was her fault. She'd taken the safe path with Tom Demming and by the time she realized who she really wanted, it was too late. Castle had moved on. She tried to hide the pain but Javi, Ryan, Montgomery, they all knew her hard shell was a sham. When she saw the blood draining from Castle's body, it was as if her life was draining away with it. Now because Ryan was too quick on the trigger, she might never have a chance to tell Castle the truth. She had to try not to hate Ryan for that. She hoped she could succeed.

Beckett's phone buzzed with a text from Alexis. Castle was conscious and being moved to a private room. Beckett would be able to see him. She tried to think of what she could say.

Castle's eyes were closed as Beckett entered the room. His face looked beautiful in rest, with lashes any woman would envy and hair falling over his forehead like a little boy. As much as she denied it to herself, it was the face she had fallen in love with on a book jacket as she had fallen in love with the words he had written inside. When they first worked together, she hadn't seen the man hidden behind the infuriating man child, but as she came to see his supportiveness of his mother and his fierce protectiveness of Alexis, she came to know him. He had saved her life more than once and found solutions to cases she would never have seen. He'd even put forward a hundred thousand dollars of his own money to trap her mother's killer. But she'd hidden behind the walls she'd built so long, she couldn't let him in. She brushed him aside like a casual acquaintance for Tom, who stood no chance of penetrating her tough facade. She'd lied to him, a lie he caught her in before he told her he was leaving.

Beckett lightly brushed her fingertips over his hand. Her whisper of "Castle," barely audible. His lids lifted slowly with an exhalation of breath. "Beckett, Kate."

"Castle, how many times have I told you not to touch anything at a murder scene?" she teased.

Castle tried to chuckle but was defeated by the pain in his chest. "Not enough I guess," he answered.

"Maybe next time you'll listen," Beckett lectured.

"I'll have to," Castle agreed. "I don't know if I'd make it through Ryan shooting me again."

"How do you feel?" Beckett asked.

"Like I've been shot in the chest. How is Ryan doing?

"He's having a hard time Castle. He can't stop blaming himself."

"Tell him to come see me," Castle said."I know how it looked. People get shot in this city for a lot less."

"You are amazing, Castle," Beckett marveled.

"I know," Castle agreed. "So how are you and what was his name, Demming?"

"We broke up Castle," Beckett confessed, "about five minutes before you left with Gina."

"Was that what you wanted to tell me, Kate?" Castle asked.

"Yeah," Beckett confided, "not that it would have changed anything."

Castle reached for Beckett's hand. "It would have changed everything. Kate, I never would have gone. You were with Tom and - I couldn't watch anymore. A gentleman steps aside, so I left. And Gina, she was just - there. I couldn't finish the book because I hated the way the story, your story, was going. I needed her to make me do it, and she did. She's a very determined woman, but she isn't who I wanted to open my eyes to see. You are."

The sound of a clearing throat came from the doorway. Beckett turned to see Gina framed in the harsh fluorescent light."I was wondering how you were doing Rick. Now I know. Rook has found his Nikki Heat. Good luck to both of you."

Wincing in pain at the effort, Castle called after Gina as she retreated. "Do you want her to come back?" Beckett asked.

"No," Castle confessed, "but I don't want to hurt her, either. I need to talk to her."

Beckett squeezed his hand. "You can call her when you're feeling better. Where do we go from here, Castle?"

Castle reached up to pull her lips to his. They came together with a rush of heat escaping dampers forced closed for two years. Their eyes met in wonder. "Anywhere you want, Kate," Castle murmured breathily. "As long as we go there together.


	2. Chapter 2

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 2

Castle tried to hitch himself up in bed, but fell back against the pillow. "I don't think I'm going much of anywhere right now," he commented wryly. "So tell me about the case. Who killed Maya?"

Beckett pulled a chair beside the bed, reaching up to hold Castle's hand between her own. "We don't know, Castle," she explained. "There are three murders that are connected somehow, but we don't know how. Besides Maya, there was a chemistry teacher named Chloe Whitman who had Maya's address clutched in her hand. There was also a vending machine operator named Todd McHutchin."

"What did Lanie find?" Castle asked.

"Not much," Beckett answered. "Chloe had a number written on her palm."

"Do you know what it was for?" Castle queried.

"No," Beckett replied. "We've been looking through phones and financials but nothing has popped out yet."

"Can you get them to me?" Castle asked. "If nothing else it will give me something to do and I might see something you missed."

"I can do that," Beckett agreed. "Castle, I really don't want to leave you right now, but I have to get back to the precinct. I'll come back as soon as I can."

Castle squeezed her hand. "Beckett, I understand. If you didn't go work on the case, you wouldn't be you. But if you see Ryan, do ask him to come. I think it will help - both of us."

Beckett nodded. "I will."

* * *

><p>Martha and Alexis were sitting with Castle when Ryan knocked tentatively on the open door. "Hey, Quick Draw McGraw," Castle called, "come in."<p>

Martha looked from one man to the other. "Alexis and I have some errands to do," she blurted quickly, grabbing Alexis' arm. "We'll be back later."

Martha hustled Alexis out of the room as Castle called: "Love you!" after them.

"How are you, Castle?" Ryan asked softly, after the redheads were gone."

"I'm alive, Kevin," Castle told him, "and Beckett's even letting me help with the case. How are you?"

"Why are you asking me?" Ryan asked, "you're the one who was shot. I shot you! Castle, I'm so sorry, if I could go back and change it..."

"Ryan," Castle stopped him, "I'm gonna be okay and I accept your apology. I can imagine Beckett wanting to shoot me sometimes, though not in the chest, but not you. It was an accident. How bad did 1PP come down on you?"

"They benched me, Castle," Ryan admitted. "Two months unpaid administrative leave while I go through weapons retraining and psychological evaluation. It was all over everything, the papers, the TV, the internet, that I shot best selling author Richard Castle. They couldn't let it go. They're not the only ones. I've been getting hate mail from your fans. Castlecrazy206 proposed doing some things to me with pruning shears."

Ryan and Castle both gave little shivers. "I'm sorry, Kevin. I'll put out a tweet asking them to leave you alone. Are you going to make it? I know the NYPD is not overly generous. I never have figured out how Beckett pays for all those stilettos."

Ryan gave a half-hearted laugh. "I'll be okay. Jenny and I moved in together. She's been incredible through all this, although she's worried about you."

"Well tell her I'll be fine, or better still, bring her." Castle instructed. "You have a great woman there, Kevin. Hold on tight."

"I am," Ryan confessed, "she's what's holding me up." Ryan could see Castle's energy staring to wane. "I have to go, Castle. Thanks."

"See you, bro," Castle replied with wave. As Ryan retreated, Castle's eyes drifted closed.

Beckett arrived in Castle's room, arms full of paper. Though his eyes were closed, he knew from the click of her heels on the hospital floor whom it had to be. He smiled as his lids lifted. "Kate."

Shifting her load to one arm, she couldn't resist brushing the hair from his forehead, feeling the soft strands against her fingers."Time to quit goofing off, Castle. I've got the financials from the three murder victims."

Castle tried to suppress a wince as he pushed the button to raise the head of his bed. "You know, Beckett," he teased. "I really ought to get you a whip. It would suit your management style and also go great with those shoes."

"What makes you think I don't already have one?" Beckett teased.

"Mmm," Castle responded, "I can't wait to find out. So let me take a look at that stuff."

Beckett handed over stacks of credit card statements. Castle's eyes moved quickly as Beckett watched, always amazed by how fast he could read. "They all have small charges here for a place called KCBC. I think I know what that is. I had one of those nights when I woke up with feathers in my hair and I didn't know how they got there, but I remember going to a club with that name. It was kind of like a mix between a circus and a strip club. There was a dancer who..."

Castle could see Beckett's eyes narrow. "Never mind," he put in quickly. "My point is, it was a club and you needed a code to get through the door."

"That might be what was on Chloe's hand," Beckett suggested thoughtfully. "Three digits?"

"If I recall, yes," Castle confirmed.

"Great! I'll track it down," Beckett declared, leaning over to give him a quick kiss.

"Hey," Castle told her, pulling her back as she began to pull back. "You don't get away that fast. Come here."

As their lips met more deeply, Castle could taste the endless cups of coffee Beckett had been drinking to keep going. There was no hint of vanilla. He hadn't been there to bring her favorite lattes. When he was free of his bed, he would have to start bringing them to her again. There were so many things he wanted to bring her, to give her, to show her. But it would have to wait. The doctor had been explicit. Even when Castle was allowed to leave the hospital, when his blood count was high enough and they were sure there were no errant fragments of his shattered rib causing trouble, he would be moving slowly for quite a while. He could do some telephone interviews Gina had tersely called to suggest, but joining Beckett again on the trail of a killer would take time. Still, she was here with him now, and that was worth the pain.


	3. Chapter 3

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 3

Beckett sat on a table in the morgue suffering one of Lanie's patented looks. "Girlfriend," Lanie chided, "if you had done this a year ago I would have made so much money on you. You just had to be stubborn."

"Lanie, I didn't know," Beckett protested. "All those times when he said we'd be together, I just thought he was teasing. It wasn't until Javi told me Castle didn't like seeing me with another guy that I realized I really could… I really wanted to..."

"Then Gina got in the act, I know," Lanie interjected, "so the question is, what are you going to do now?"

Beckett blushed. "it's not like I can jump him in the hospital." Beckett drifted to dreamy remembrance. "We had a kiss."

"From the look on your face that must have been some kiss," Lanie observed. "But really, is this going to be another one of your one foot out the door relationships or are you serious this time?"

"Lanie, I don't know," Beckett confessed. "I think I'm serious but I'm scared. This is Castle. He's been married twice and even though Gina has walked away from the relationship again, she's still in the picture as his publisher. There's a lot to deal with. Anyway, we were supposed to be talking about the case. Was it about making meth?"

"That's the strange thing," Lanie replied, "it wasn't. There were chemicals on Maya's clothes alright, solvents, bleach, but no pseudoephedrine, nothing to make meth. I did get results on the ink from Maya's and Chloe's tattoos. It was the same. They probably used the same tattoo artist."

"The owner of that weird club does tattoos," Beckett mused. "This all ties together, but I can't put my finger on how." Beckett pushed herself down from the table and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Lanie asked.

Beckett gave the beginnings of a smile and shook her head. "Where I always go when I hit a wall, to talk to Castle."

Castle was sitting up in bed with his phone when Beckett walked in the room. "Hey," he greeted her, "trying to catch up on my email and my tweets. It's amazing what can pile up."

"Yeah, all those loving fans who would just love to nurse you back to health," Beckett returned, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, I mean no," Castle replied, reaching out to her. "The only fan I care about is right here."

Beckett's mouth quirked. "Good save. Can you leave that long enough to talk about the case?"

"Sure," Castle responded enthusiastically, putting his phone on the bedside table. "What have you got?"

"We were wrong about the drugs, Castle. Lanie says there were chemicals, but not for meth. She said it was more as if they were bleaching something."

Creases formed between Castle's mobile brows. "Bleaching? What would they be bleaching? A sculptor, a chemistry teacher, and a vending machine operator walk into a laundromat. It sounds like the set-up for a joke doesn't it?"

Beckett laughed. "It does, but what's the punchline?"

Castle began to laugh with her, but his breath caught in his throat.

"Castle, it wasn't that funny." Beckett saw the color drain from his face as he gasped for air. "Castle!"

Beckett ran to grab the nearest nurse, who took one look at Castle and paged a doctor. Beckett clung tightly to Castle's hand.

A doctor entered the room on a dead run. "Mr. Castle," she said, assessing the situation, "this is what we were afraid of. It looks like a shard of bone has re-collapsed your lung. We need to take you to surgery now. Get a gurney!" she ordered a nurse.

Beckett tried to hold on to Castle, but another nurse pushed her back. "We'll take care of him," she said reassuringly. "Dr. Kim is the best."

Beckett paced the halls as she called Castle's loft. There was no answer. She tried to keep her voice steady as she left a message when Martha's cell went to voice mail. Alexis would be in school, but Beckett couldn't remember where. It would be best to talk to Martha first in any case. The minutes stretched. Confining herself to the surgical waiting room to greet Martha if she arrived, Beckett couldn't sit still. Hard as she tried to push it away, the fear of losing Castle just as she had finally realized how much he meant to her overwhelmed her. She tried to focus her mind on the case, but her thoughts wouldn't come together. If there was a joke, it was a bad one.

Martha rushed in. "Katherine?"

"I'm so sorry, Martha. We were talking about the case and he started laughing and it just happened."

Martha put an arm around Beckett's shoulders. "It's not your fault. "It's Richard. He always finds something to laugh about. That's who he is."

Beckett nodded. "You want some coffee? There's a vending machine. It's pretty awful, but it's strong."

"Thanks," Martha agreed, not so much because she wanted coffee but to give Beckett something to do. Beckett tried to feed a bill into the machine, which objected to a crinkled corner. Beckett smoothed the bill and tried again, thinking of the hundreds of dollars that had passed through the slot, when realization struck.

* * *

><p>Castle fought his way back to consciousness, images swimming before his eyes. He saw Maya sculpting, surrounded by chemicals and dollar bills. His lids sprang open. He knew what they were doing.<p>

* * *

><p>Martha returned to where Beckett waited. "He's asking for you. He was pretty urgent about it.<p>

Something about dreaming about the case."

"Thank you, Martha," Beckett said, grasping the older woman's arm before rushing to Castle's room. Beckett took a breath and slowed to a walk as she approached the door. "What's so important about the case, Castle?"

"Beckett, I got it! A sculptor, a chemistry teacher and a vending machine owner and what they were bleaching. Todd would have an unlimited supply of dollar bills from the machines. Chloe figured out how to bleach them so they could be printed over and Maya made the plates. They were counterfeiting!There's just one other thing they'd need."

"The ink!" Castle and Beckett exclaimed together.

"If I remember correctly, there is a tattoo parlor attached to that club," Castle continued.

"You're right Castle," Beckett agreed.

"And who better to supply ink than a tattoo artist?" Castle crowed triumphantly.

"Castle," Beckett said, kissing the tips of his fingers,"I think we've got our killer."

"Beckett, you can do better than that. I cracked the case!" Castle complained.

Beckett bent over the bed bringing her lips close to Castle's. "I'll see what I can do."

A/N Merry Christmas! Don't forget the kids who don't even have a clean drink of water. I'll tweet my Charity Water site.


	4. Chapter 4

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 4

Martha stood at Castle's bedside displaying the weighty diamond. "So you're not engaged but you're wearing the ring?" Castle asked.

"I told Chet I'd think about it and he told me to wear the ring as encouragement," Martha replied.

"I can see where that hunk of rock would whisper 'keep me, keep me.'" Castle offered. "So what are you going to do?"

"I think I'm going to have to give it back," Martha said regretfully. "There's no spark, no magic. I've been trying to feel it, but it's gone."

"I know what you mean," Castle agreed. "It was like that all summer with me and Gina."

"But not with Katherine?" Martha asked.

Castle smiled and shook his head. "She walks in and the room could catch on fire. When I get out of here I may have to invest in a fireproof suit."

"Did the doctor say when you'll be discharged?" Martha queried.

"She's going to do another MRI, and if that and my blood work look good, tomorrow," Castle replied gleefully.

Beckett stood in the doorway. "Am I interrupting?"

"No!" Castle exclaimed. "I was just telling Mother they might be letting me out tomorrow. Come in. Please!"

Martha eyed the eager look on her son's face. "I need to be going. I have preparations to make for an audition."

Castle watched his mother leave. "She's about as subtle as a pile driver."

"I think that runs in the family," Beckett quipped. "So you're feeling better?"

"I'm feeling bored," Castle told her. "Tell me there's a new case."

"There's a new case," Beckett repeated. "This one is just up your alley, Castle. It's Vivien Marchand."

"The psychic medium?" Castle asked.

"Uh hmmm," Beckett confirmed. "I thought you might know about her."

"More than that," Castle responded. "She did a reading for me at a party a few years ago. She told me a beautiful woman would move into my loft and stay forever. She neglected to mention it would be my mother."

"Isn't your mother living with Chet?" Beckett asked.

"She's been alternating between residences," Castle corrected. "But she just told me he proposed and it sounds like she's got cold feet. I think she'll be back full time. The opportunity of turning her room into a home theater was just too good to be true."

"It may be just as well," Beckett opined. "You'll need somebody there when you go home."

"I'll have you know I intend to return to dogging your steps as soon as possible," Castle rejoined. "So tell me all the juicy details."

"Vivien's daughter Penny came to find her mother. When she couldn't, she tried her cell phone. It rang from a convertible couch. Vivien was stuffed inside it. She'd had been stabbed with an ice pick."

"Any clues so far?" Castle asked.

"A man in black was seen banging on the door," Beckett replied.

"Intriguing," Castle commented.

"We're still canvassing and waiting for phone records and financials," Beckett continued. "Espo's on it and he has Karpowski working with him while Ryan's on suspension."

"Ryan and Jenny were here yesterday, Castle reported. "They were trying to put a good face on things, especially Jenny, but they're having it tough."

"Well he did shoot you, Castle," Beckett reminded him. "You have more sympathy for him than the department does."

"Hey," Castle replied, reaching for her, "if it hadn't been for that bullet, you and I might still be pretending we're just friends."

"Castle, you could have died," Beckett protested.

"But I didn't," Castle responded. "And I think now I'm just beginning to live."

Beckett grimaced. "Castle, you'd be ashamed to put a line like that in one of your books."

"Give a sick man a break," Castle cajoled.

"You're sick alright." Beckett agreed, "Let's see if this makes you any better." Their lips met like opposite poles of magnets, the pull inexorable. Beckett cupped the back of Castle's head as he tangled his fingers in her hair.

Beckett's hand was finding its way under Castle's hospital gown when a cough sounded from the doorway. "Mr. Castle, I need to get some blood."

Beckett hurriedly stood up as Castle sighed. "Until I came here I thought vampires only came out at night."

"I have to get back to the precinct anyway," Beckett quickly put in.

"See you later?" Castle asked hopefully.

"I'll try," Beckett agreed.

* * *

><p>Alexis fussed around her father in the loft while Martha went to Chet's home to bid adieu to both the very large diamond and to Chet. Though Castle usually enjoyed the attention as Alexis fetched juice and inquired if he needed another pain pill, it was beginning to cloy. He wanted to be on the case with Beckett, who in his absence at the precinct was being singularly unreceptive to his theories. When a letter was found from Vivien Marchand, giving some details of the murder, Castle was sure that the psychic had foretold her own death. Beckett, always the skeptic, insisted that the killer had left the note to throw the police off track. Beckett had found a promising suspect in a retired mobster, who had been driven into bankruptcy by investment advice that Vivien promised would yield eternal happiness. When it turned out that the mobster's financial collapse had reunited him with love of his life, Castle declared that Vivien was right. Beckett maintained that it was merely coincidence. Castle felt he could be a lot more convincing if he could pursue the case in person instead of receiving the evidence from Beckett's jaundiced point of view.<p>

Still there was an upside. Beckett was making visits to the loft to share the evidence with Castle. The relative privacy of his own home was better than the constant intrusions he suffered in the hospital. Had Beckett not been so wary of his wound, things might be progressing beyond kisses and caresses. Castle was hoping that his follow up with the doctor would give him an all clear to get back to more vigorous activity with Beckett, in both business and pleasure.

Castle's thoughts were interrupted when Martha came dragging back into the loft. "Mother, you're still wearing the rock," Castle noted. "Am I going to have a new stepfather?"

Martha headed straight to the kitchen to pour a glass of wine. "Oh Richard," she revealed sadly, "I couldn't give it back. Chet is dead. He had a stroke. His kids, Boomer and Lottie, said I was the love of his life. They were trying to console me! How could I tell them I had come to break it off?"

Castle took her hand in his. "You couldn't, Mother, but Chet died with the hope of love. You gave Chet a gift many never receive. Believe me, I came close to being one of them."


	5. Chapter 5

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 5

Castle let Beckett into the loft. "Hey, you're answering the door yourself now," she greeted.

"Uh huh, even climbing stairs," Castle informed her happily, brushing back her hair so he could nuzzle her neck. "The doctor says she still doesn't want me driving, but otherwise I can get back to regular activity."

"And by that she means...?" Beckett questioned.

"I can work with you on the case - and other things," Castle murmured, cupping her cheek.

"Are you going to be doing physical therapy?" Beckett asked.

"Already started," Castle told her, "but not the kind I want."

Beckett pressed herself against him, her hands finding their way around his neck. "And what kind would that be?"

Castle pulled her even closer, bringing her tightly against his hips. "This." There was no hesitation. His kiss was deep and searching, tasting all that was Beckett. She mirrored his passion, glorying as the heat of his body burned through her thin cotton top, even as every cell in her body craved more.

"Castle," Beckett whispered urgently against his lips.

His answer came in a voice raspy with desire. "I know." The bedroom seemed miles away, but hands grasping, they led each other. Beckett reached for the top button of her blouse. Castle stopped her, covering her hand with his own. "No, let me." He undid the fastenings one by one, his lips leaving a trail of heat on the milky skin he revealed.

Beckett couldn't be still, reaching to grab desperately at the clothes that separated them. As Castle's shirt fell open, she gasped at the sight of the scars, still angry and red. Her voice poured out almost as a sob. "Oh, Castle."

Castle pulled back. "Kate, I'm sorry. Is it a turn-off?"

"Oh, Castle no!" Beckett ran her fingertips over the puckered skin before replacing them with feather-light touches of her lips. "No. It's just - how close I came to losing you."

Their lips met again as the remaining barriers were pulled or torn away. Need, denied for two years, drove them, touching and tasting all that had been savored only in lusty imaginings. The reality was so much more, the power of it overwhelming. To resist coming to each other completely was unthinkable. Even as they clung, the culmination of their desire surged through them in an overpowering deluge. Drained and incredulous they lay in each others' arms.

Castle could feel Beckett moving against his side as awareness of the world slowly returned. "You know Kate, when you walked away from me after our first case, you told me I had no idea. You were right."

Beckett snuggled against his still heated skin. "Castle, I had no idea either."

He grinned mischievously. "So you want to tell me about the case now?"

"She looked up confused. "What?"

"The case," Castle repeated. "You know, dead psychic. Any new information surfaced?"

Beckett ran her fingers through her hair as she cleared her mind. "Yeah. You mean dead fraud. There's this guy, Steve Adams."

"Vivien's first success story," Castle prompted.

"Or not." Beckett replied. "We really thought he was the killer. He claims that Vivien was lying. She hadn't seen him with a girl in a bar in a vision, Vivien had actually been there. According to him, Vivien made her reputation by sending him to jail for a crime he didn't commit."

"That would certainly be a motive," Castle remarked.

"Yes and he had contact with Vivien," Beckett continued. "But it turns out that Adams wasn't trying to kill Vivien. He was trying to get her on camera on Cody Donnelly's reality show so he could confront her."

"_You've Ruined My Life_?" Castle asked excitedly. "I love that show!"

Beckett nodded. "That's the one. Anyway, Donnelly confirmed it. Adams wasn't trying to kill Vivien, he was trying to clear his name. We still don't have anything on the mysterious TJ either. Vivien's daughter Penny came in, but it was useless."

"How?" Castle inquired.

"Penny claims that she has a little bit of her mother's psychic power," Beckett explained.

"Those things have been known to run in families," Castle suggested.

Beckett rolled her eyes. "If you mean families of charlatans, maybe. But I think Penny actually believes her mother had powers. Anyway, she told me she had a dream that someone named Alexander would be very important to me and might even save my life some day. I don't know any Alexander."

"Yes you do," Castle disagreed. "My middle name is Alexander."

"I thought your middle name was Edgar," Beckett countered, confused.

Castle laughed. "Did you get that off my web site? When I changed my last name to Castle, I changed my middle name to Edgar, for Edgar Allen Poe. My given name is Richard Alexander Rodgers. Interesting, huh?"

Beckett was flummoxed for a moment until a buzz issued from the pocket of her pants on the floor. With a groan, she threw her legs over the side of the bed and reached for her phone. "Great. Text me the address," she told the caller. "That was Esposito," she reported. "He found a cabbie who dropped Vivien Marchand off at a building at 112th and Riverside. The doorman remembers Vivien going up to the apartment of a Toni Johnston."

"TJ," Castle noted with a grin.

"TJ," Beckett repeated. "I should get over there."

"Don't you mean we should get over there?" Castle questioned.

Beckett stroked his face. "Sure Castle, welcome back."

Beckett wasn't certain her legs would actually work as she struggled back into her clothes, but the excitement of having Castle at her side again was energizing. Castle was even more enthusiastic, pulling on his shirt before happily realizing that the buttons had suffered from lovers' haste and he would need a fresh one. He hurriedly finger combed his hair, while Beckett pulled a brush from her bag, which had been dropped near the door of the loft, to give some order to her tangled locks.

Beckett slid behind the wheel of her unit with Castle beside her. For the first time since Memorial Day months before, or perhaps even earlier, when Tom Demming had entered the picture, things felt right. Castle was with her, really with her. She reached over to squeeze his hand before starting the car. Rush hour was past and the ride uptown uneventful as Beckett expertly wove her way through traffic. Finding no parking spots in front of Toni Johnston's building, Beckett was forced to park two blocks away. She and Castle walked hand in hand until shortly before approaching the doorman. Though Beckett and Castle were no longer in physical contact, the doorman gave them a knowing look born of years of experience in people watching. He was surprised when Beckett flashed her badge, sure of what they had been doing and pretty sure that before long they would be doing it again. Smiling to himself, he admitted the couple and directed Beckett to the Johnston apartment upstairs.

"So Castle," Beckett asked as they rode the elevator, "are you ready to question the suspect?"

Castle's mouth quirked in a crooked smile. "Detective Beckett, I'm ready for anything."


	6. Chapter 6

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 6

The door was opened by an attractive blond. "Can I help you?"

"Toni Johnston?" Beckett asked. "I'm Detective Kate Beckett and this is Richard Castle."

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" Toni interjected, walking down a hallway as Beckett and Castle followed. "I'm so stressed out I can't believe this is happening."

"So you know that Vivien Marchand was murdered?" Beckett queried.

Toni pressed her hands against her stomach. "When I saw the paper yesterday I nearly puked up my oatmeal."

"Why did Vivien come to visit you on Monday?" Beckett asked.

Toni bent in, lowering her voice. "Look, this is all very personal and private, and it involves my sex life. Will you promise to keep it confidential?"

Overcoming Beckett's reticence, Castle blurted: "Absolutely!" Beckett fixed him with a narrow eyed stare.

"Okay," Toni began, "earlier this year I did a terrible thing. I had an affair with my husband's boss - very discrete. No one knew about it. That's why Vivien called me."

"She knew about the affair?" Castle asked.

"She called me out of the blue," Toni confirmed. "She knew we met at the company Christmas party, that we used to rendezvous at the Starburst Hotel, everything.

"Extraordinary," Castle commented, triumphantly wagging his eyebrows at Beckett.

"I know, right?" Toni continued. "I mean my mind was totally blown."

"An affair?" Beckett interrupted. "Did Vivien ever talk to you about murder?"

Toni shook her head. "No. She just told me she knew how I had cheated on Nick, my husband. Then she asked me a lot of questions about him."

Beckett threw a "now we're getting to it," look at Castle. "What kind of questions?" Castle asked.

"She asked if he had a temper and if I felt safe," Toni confided. "She was sure Nick knew about the affair. She said the spouse always knows."

Castle squared his shoulders, looking smugly back at Beckett. "Did she say how she knew all of this incredibly personal information, the details of which could not readily be found in the Hall of Records or gleaned through an internet search?"

"Oh yeah," Toni responded. "The guy I was cheating with? He told her everything."

Castle's face fell as Beckett smirked. "You know," Beckett told Toni, "I'm going to have to speak to him."

"Oh you can't. That's why we stopped seeing each other," Toni explained. "He died last April."

A grin spread over Castle's face as Beckett gave Toni a skeptical look. "You're telling me that your dead lover told Vivien about your affair?"

"That's right," Toni agreed. "She said Emilio came to her in a dream."

"Emilio?" Beckett inquired.

"Emilio Casillas," Toni replied, as Beckett's eyebrows rose.

The doorman threw Beckett and Castle a smiling salute as they left the building. "Who's Emilio Casillas?" Castle asked as he and Beckett walked back to the car.

The Casillases were clients of Vivien Marchand, Paula and Marina, his wife and daughter," Beckett explained. "Vivien told them she was in contact with Emilio."

Castle waggled one eyebrow. "Really?"

"I need to have Lanie take another look at the death of Emilio Casillas," Beckett concluded.

* * *

><p>Lanie sipped slowly on a drink as she read a file while Castle fidgeted. "Well?" he asked.<p>

"Emilio Casillas' autopsy file makes some very interesting reading." Lanie commented.

"But was he murdered?" Castle asked.

"According to the M.E.'s notes, in addition to the cause of death, which was massive heart failure, Casillas showed signs of alopecia and his fingernails were thinning," Lanie replied.

Castle ran a hand unconsciously through his hair. "it's not exactly uncommon for a guy to be going bald, but what do the fingernails mean?"

"There's no way to know for sure without exhuming the body," Lanie explained, "but it could be an overdose of selenium."

"Isn't selenium in vitamin supplements?" Beckett asked.

"Sometimes," Lanie answered. "Everyone needs trace amounts, but too much can be toxic.

"The Casillas family owns a vitamin factory," Beckett mused. "Toni's husband Nick works there. If he knew about the affair, he could have easily gotten the selenium and poisoned Emilio with it. Then if he discovered Vivien was on to him, he could have killed her too. We need to bring him in."

* * *

><p>"You've got the wrong guy!" Nick protested, sitting uncomfortably across the table from Beckett and Castle in interrogation. "I didn't kill the psychic."<p>

"We know she came to see you," Beckett asserted.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, she said she needed to talk to me in private. She said it was urgent, something to do with my wife, so I punched out early and went uptown to her office."

"And what did you do when you got there?" Beckett probed.

"Nothing!" Nick insisted. "The door was locked. I pounded on it for about ten minutes but nobody answered so I left.

Beckett sniffed. "That's a pretty convenient story."

"It's the truth." Nick declared.

Beckett decided to switch tacks. "Let's talk about Emilio Casillas.

"What about him?" Nick asked.

"You knew he was sleeping with your wife," Castle stated.

Nick closed his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, they thought they were being so careful, but I knew."

Beckett stood and leaned over the table, staring aggressively into Nick's eyes. "So what did you do about it?"

"Nothing." Nick responded.

Beckett drew back incredulously. "Seriously, Nick? Do you seriously expect me to believe that you just sat by and let your boss take your wife away from you. Do you think I'm that dumb?"

"Believe me," Castle put in looking at Beckett affectionately, "she's never dumb."

Nick braced his arms on the table as his head drooped. "I guess it doesn't matter now. I went to Emilio and asked him to stop seeing her. But he refused, said he was in love with her. When I threatened to tell his wife he just said: 'Do what you gotta do.' So I decided I wasn't going to do his dirty work for him. If he wanted to be scum and leave his wife of thirty years, he would have to tell her himself. And you guys have seen Toni, right? She's beautiful. I wanted to save my marriage, so I kept my mouth shut. Two weeks later Emilio was dead."

"And you did nothing to help that along?" Beckett pressed.

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked, confused. "The guy had a heart attack. As far as I'm concerned, it was karma."

Karpowski came to the door of interrogation. "Penny Marchand is here. She say's it's urgent."

Beckett sighed. "Just what I need."

Beckett and Castle met Penny in the lounge. "Detective," Penny insisted. "I had another dream last night and I'm sure it had to do with my mother's murder."

Beckett tried to listen patiently.

"I was having dinner with my mother in a Masonic hall," Penny continued. "She kept pointing to the men around us saying, 'Ask the Masons, that's the only way you'll get closure.'"

"Well thank you, Penny," Beckett replied as gently as she could. "We'll look into any connection your mother might have with the Freemasons."

"Thank you Detective," Penny replied. "Oh, did you figure out who Alexander is?"

Castle suppressed a smile as Beckett answered. "I think I might have. Thank you again, Penny."

Castle sank back in his chair as Penny left. Beckett went to him and crouching down, framed his face in her hands. "Castle you're exhausted. This has been a lot to come back to. Why don't I take you back to the loft?"

Castle shook his head. "You really are remarkable you know, but you have work to do here. You haven't checked out Nick's story yet. Why don't I catch a cab and see you later?"

"Okay," Beckett agreed, kissing him softly. "I'll join you as soon as I'm done."

Castle let himself into the loft and tiredly threw his keys on the dresser before flopping on the bed. Propping his head on his arm, he closed his eyes, while Masonic symbols swirled behind his eyelids. When Beckett arrived, she silently fit herself into his side, her head resting on his shoulder. His lips turned upwards as he slept.


	7. Chapter 7

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 7

Beckett stood puzzling in front of the murder board while Castle sat on the desk. "What's the story on Nick Johnston?" Esposito asked.

"Some of the people in the other offices saw him pounding on the door and leave," Beckett reported. "It sounds like he was telling the truth."

"Well the good news," Castle declared, "is that with the Freemasons we have a whole new crop of suspects."

"Freemasons?" Esposito and Karpowski asked.

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Just ignore him. So Paula and Marina Casillas, if they knew that Emilio was cheating, that would be motive."

"Maybe they found out that Vivien was investigating his death," Castle suggested.

"But they were Vivien's clients," Beckett protested. "Why would murderers go to a psychic for closure?"

"They also have an alibi for the evening Vivien was killed," Karpowski added. "Uniforms canvassed the restaurant where they were dining with friends. They were there from five P.M. 'til after seven."

Lines creased Beckett's forehead. "Was this restaurant anywhere near Vivien's office?"

"Yeah, "Karpowski replied, holding out a business card, "around the corner. A new place, Masons."

Castle's eyes gleamed with excitement as he repeated Penny's words. "Ask the Masons and they will give you closure."

"Let's not get carried away," Beckett cautioned.

Castle grabbed the business card from Karpowski. "Ask the Masons. Beckett, Penny was right before. You know she was."

Esposito and Karpowski looked at each other in confusion.

Castle held the card out to Beckett. "Come on Kate, believe!"

Beckett hesitantly took the piece of cardboard. "No matter what happens Castle, we will never speak of this again."

"Don't count on it," Castle muttered under his breath as she pulled out her phone.

* * *

><p>Paula Casillas looked at Beckett in annoyance as she and her daughter faced Beckett and Castle in the box. "Mrs. Casillas," Beckett asked, "whose idea was it to go and visit Vivien Marchand in the first place?"<p>

"We have had a very long day," Paula complained.

"Please answer the question," Beckett pressed.

"It was my idea," Marina put in. "Mother thought it cost too much, but I missed Daddy so much I was willing to do anything."

"And when she knew so many private things about your father...," Beckett prompted.

"It was almost like being with him," Marina continued, "like he was in the room with us."

"The night that Vivien Marchand was murdered the two of you went to dinner with friends at Mason's," Beckett stated.

"That's right," Marina confirmed. "It's a new place, my mother wanted to try it."

"The waiter confirmed that you were there with them from five until seven thirty," Beckett continued. "How was your meal? Did you have wine with dinner?"

"Yes, no," Marina stammered. "I mean they don't have a liquor license yet, so you bring your own."

"So you brought a bottle of wine with you then?" Beckett queried.

"No," Marina replied. "Mother went out to the liquor store and bought us a bottle. She was gone about twenty minutes."

Paula moved uncomfortably in her chair, twisting her fingers.

"And what time was that?" Beckett questioned.

"Five fifteen, maybe," Marina answered confused. "What's this all about?"

Paula began to sweat under Beckett's gaze. "Paula, we went to the liquor store," Beckett informed her, holding up a receipt. "You didn't buy the bottle of wine at five fifteen, you bought it at three twelve, the same time you bought an ice pick.

"Marina looked at her mother. "I don't understand."

"Beckett continued to stare at Paula. "You bought that bottle of wine and then you put it aside. Then at five fifteen you left the restaurant, went straight to Vivien's office and murdered her."

"And then you went and retrieved your bottle of wine," Castle continued. "You returned to the restaurant and you had dinner with your daughter and your friends."

"That's crazy!" Marina exclaimed. "Mom, tell them!"

Paula sat in stoney silence.

"Why would she do something like that?" Marina asked in horror.

"To cover up another murder," Castle explained as gently as he could. "Your father's."

"Paula," Beckett asked. "did you figure out that Emilio was cheating on you or did he tell you?"

Anger flashed in Paula's eyes. "He told me that he had met someone, that she was young and beautiful and I was just a boring old lady. I took some selenium from the factory and every morning I put a little in his coffee."

Marina looked at her mother as if she's never seen her before. "Oh my God! Mom!"

Paula turned to her daughter. "When you wanted to see Vivien, I decided to humor you. But that bitch knew things she shouldn't have known. She said she had a message from Emilio. That cheating SOB was going to tell on me! I couldn't let that happen."

* * *

><p>Castle and Beckett were curled up together on the couch when Martha returned from Chet's memorial service. "Are you all right, mother?" Castle asked.<p>

"No," Martha replied, "but I made it through giving the eulogy. Thank you for writing it. Boomer and Lottie were good about taking back the ring. I told them I couldn't cope with seeing it."

"Not entirely untrue," Castle commented.

"But they thought it was out of grief. They don't know that every time I looked at it I was reminded that Chet gave his love to a woman who was too shallow to appreciate it. And now, Chet's up there. I'm sure he knows and he's sorry he wasted his last hours on me."

"Martha," Beckett comforted. "Chet knew you, and he loved you. He was in love until the day he died. Who could be sorry about that?"

"Thank you Katherine," Martha responded. "I think I'll just go upstairs."

"Hey, what's wrong?" Castle asked, seeing Beckett's smile fade as Martha retreated to her room.

"Castle how can anyone know how long love will last? Emilio Casillas chose a younger prettier face over his wife. Martha fell out of love with Chet. You've been married twice. How can anyone know that a relationship is even worth trying?"

Castle drew a breath. "Wow! I don't know about Emilio. I never met him. Who knows why he and Paula got married? I do know that mother was never really in love with Chet. She found every excuse she could to be away from him. He may have been serious, but she just wanted a little fun in her life. I didn't walk away from Meredith. How could I? We had Alexis together. She moved in with a director in Malibu and divorced me, but I'll never regret our marriage for a second. I'll always love Meredith for giving me my daughter. And Gina, I don't know what that was, either time. We weren't really in love. It was kind of a working relationship with benefits - which she still gets." Responding to Beckett's shocked look, Castle hastened to add, "You should see my alimony checks."

Relaxing only slightly, Beckett asked, "What about us?"

"Kate, if you want guarantees, I can't give them. But I've been following you around for two years, and every day I see something new. I've seen you show incredible compassion. I've also seen you angry, frustrated, and even in the depths of despair. I've never seen you in the heights of joy. I'm not sure I've even ever seen you really happy, but I want to, desperately. If it takes my entire life to uncover the hidden facets of the jewel that is Kate Beckett, I can't think of a way I'd rather spend it. The best profiler in the country thought we were together. I believe that's because she saw how well we fit. You can be frustrating, challenging, and infuriating, but you are also the most remarkable woman I've ever known. With everything I've learned and everything I hope to learn, I love you."

Beckett had no words, but let her feelings flow through the press of her lips on his.


	8. Chapter 8

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 8

Ryan wandered tentatively into the bullpen. "Hey Ryan," Castle called from his seat beside Beckett's desk. "Are you back?"

"Not yet, I have to get my badge from Captain Montgomery and then I have to re-qualify before I get my weapon ba -," Ryan stopped short realizing that he was talking about his gun with the person he had shot.

Castle extended a hand. "It's okay, bro." He continued as Ryan extended his own in a careful shake. "Good luck, man."

Beckett came towards the two men, avoiding looking at Ryan as he headed for Montgomery's office. We have a suspect, Castle, she said holding up a Post It® note.

* * *

><p>Castle spotted a young man climbing down a drainpipe. "Hey, that's Random!" he shouted as Beckett immediately gave chase. The young man was both nimble and lightning quick, leaving Beckett behind and Castle at an even greater distance. Beckett heard the squeal of tires as a car came screaming around a corner blocking Random's path.<p>

"Hey, what the hell! That's my suspect!" Beckett yelled as a man jumped out of the car taking Random down and cuffing him. The new arrival got up, turning to face Beckett. "Royce!"

"How yah doin' kid?" Royce responded. Castle caught up as Beckett and Royce stared at each other, and threw Beckett a questioning look.

Royce extended a hand. "Mike Royce, bounty hunter."

Castle regarded the way Beckett maintained her gaze on Royce's face. He drew himself up, over-topping Royce by a head. "Richard Castle, writer, and Beckett's partner."

Beckett cleared her throat. "Castle, Mike used to be on the job."

"You say that as if I was any cop," Royce objected. "I was her training officer."

"Yeah," Beckett agreed, "Mike kept me from completely embarrassing myself when I got out of the academy."

Castle looked on with narrowed eyes as Beckett and Royce shared a moment of memory. "Listen Mike," Beckett said, breaking the tension. "We have to take this guy in. He's a suspect in a murder."

"Sure kid," Royce conceded, "but when you're done, if he's not your guy, can you hand him over to me to take to central booking? I'd like to collect my bounty. I was the one who caught him."

Beckett nodded. "Yeah Mike, we'll see you at the precinct."

Beckett loaded Random into the back of a marked car for transport and she returned to her own unit with Castle. "Okay Kate," Castle asked as he slid in beside her. "What's the story about Royce?"

Beckett took a deep breath. "Castle, you know why I became a cop. I needed to solve my mother's murder. I was obsessed with it."

"You still are," Castle pointed out.

"Oh but Castle," Beckett revealed, "it was worse, much worse. I thought about it almost every waking hour. Nobody understood except Mike. Everyone else told me that I should give up, let it go. They, especially my father, said my mother wouldn't want me doing it. But Mike knew I couldn't stop, at least until I got enough therapy to help me pull back. He was there for me. He got me through and taught me how to be a cop."

"Obviously he taught you well," Castle observed, taking her hand. "But there's more isn't there?"

Beckett bit her lip. "Yes. Mike was all I had to grab on to, and I fell in love with him."

"And now?" Castle asked. "I don't know," Beckett responded. "Nothing ever came of it, I mean we never... And until you came along I'd learned, or I thought I had, to leave my mother's case alone."

Castle reached over, brushing the hair back from her face and rubbing his thumb over her jawline. "I'm sorry."

Beckett held his hand to her face. "Oh no, Castle, don't be. If it weren't for you I never would have gotten Coonan. And some day I will find out who was behind him. I need that and I owe you for the chance to do it. So," she said, straightening up and giving his hand a final squeeze before starting the car, "ready to go question Random?"

"Let's do it!"

* * *

><p>Royce was waiting at the 12th but the uniforms had yet to arrive with their prisoner. "So Mike," Beckett asked, "how'd you get the bounty on Random?"<p>

"I got a buddy at the courthouse," Royce explained. "Random missed his hearing. I got the call. So you like this guy for murder?"

"Yeah," Beckett replied, "Deon Carver."

Mike smiled and nodded. "Oh I know Deon. I did a skip trace for him last year."

"You know," Castle offered, "We found a weird piece of paper in his sock. I'm thinking it's some kind of code.

Royce looked at Beckett as she rolled her eyes. "Only piece of paper I've seen people kill for has pictures of dead presidents on it." Royce looked after two uniformed officers taking a still cuffed Random to interrogation. "Kate, can you call me if Random alibis out? I'd like to take him in as soon as possible."

"Sure," Beckett agreed, "but I wouldn't hold my breath on it. You can stay and watch from observation if you want."

Royce clapped her on the shoulder. "Thanks, kid."

"So why were you running away?" Beckett asked, as she faced Random in interrogation.

"I wasn't running away, I was jogging," Random protested.

Castle guffawed. "You always jog down the side of a building?"

"Cross training," Random asserted. "Better cardiovascular workout."

Beckett leaned over the table. "Random, you did a stint at Five Points Correctional and within a week you were breaking into someone's apartment."

"That was a misunderstanding," Random insisted. "I wrote down a friend's address wrong."

"Really?" Beckett asked not even trying to hide her skepticism. "So what do you call killing Deon Carver, mistaken identity?"

Random sat up in surprise. "Deon's dead?"

"Nice try," Beckett told him, ignoring his reaction. "You have a history of breaking and entering and I have a victim whose offices were ransacked who you just happened to be seen arguing with three hours before he was killed."

"He invited me to dinner because he wanted to stress the importance of my appearance in court this morning," Random argued, "seeing that he was the hook for a hundred 'K" if I skipped."

"Which you did," Beckett pointed out.

"My alarm clock didn't go off," Random declared.

Castle covered his mouth to smother a laugh, but Beckett remained determined. "Or," she retorted, "you were so exhausted after killing Carver you sat right through it."

"C'mon!" Random implored. "Three hours after we had dinner I was shoplifting a book at Book Mart uptown."

Beckett gazed at him incredulously. "You threatened someone's life and then decide to shoplift a book?"

"Yes, well, I forgot to pay," Random claimed. "I was so used to being in the prison library. I tried to tell the security guy but he had me in some sort of ninja choke hold. Luckily for me I was able to slip away before the cops came. Sucker. But that guard would totally remember me."

Beckett and Castle found Royce waiting at the murder board. "Mike," Beckett told him, "I checked Random's alibi. As improbable as it seems, a guard at the Book Mart remembers him shoplifting a copy of the Da Vinci Code at the time of the murder, so he's all yours, although I think shoplifting may be added to the charges."

"Thanks kid," Royce responded. "I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything and you know it," Beckett countered.

"Hey," Royce suggested, turning to Castle, holding out his phone, "do me a favor. Take a picture for old times' sake."

Castle tried not to react as Royce put an arm around Beckett as they stood in front of the mysterious paper, clipped to the murder board. Castle snapped the picture and Royce walked off to interrogation to get Random. Castle stared after him.

"What's the matter, Castle?" Beckett asked. "hate to lose a suspect?

"No," Castle confessed. "Hate taking a picture of someone you used to love with his arm around you you."

"Jealous, Castle?" Beckett suggested.

"No. Yes," Castle admitted. "It may be selfish, but seeing you held by another man, especially an old partner, bothers me. I want you all to myself."

"It's all right, Castle," Beckett told him, looking around quickly before making a swift grab at the back of his jeans. "I only want one partner, and that's you."


	9. Chapter 9

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 9

"Hey Dad, where's Beckett?" Alexis asked.

"I had a physical therapy appointment so she stayed to work on the case. She said she'd be here later," Castle replied, poring over the paper in the evidence bag.

"And she let you take evidence home?" Alexis queried skeptically.

"Oh, she made me fill out the chain of custody paperwork," Castle assured her. "But she doesn't want to take time to try to figure this out. Mysterious treasure maps are more my area, but I can't figure this one out either."

"Can I see?" Alexis asked.

"You can't do any worse than I've been doing," Castle agreed, handing her the bag.

"I can see why you're keeping it in the bag," Alexis commented. "This thing has so many creases it looks like it might fall apart."

"Yeah," Castle agreed, "The victim had it folded up in his sock. Still, there are a lot of fold lines, aren't there?"

"Like one of those paper fortune tellers," Alexis suggested.

Castle's eyes widened in excitement as he took the bag back and pulled the paper out. "Or _Mad_ _Magazine_! I used to do the puzzles on the back page all the time. If you folded it just the right way, there was another picture with a joke." Castle began to refold the paper over the deepest creases.

"There's a word there," Alexis pointed as he folded.

"Gun!" Castle exclaimed. "Under, under the gun!"

"Under the gun," Alexis repeated. "What does that mean?"

Castle grinned. "I don't know! But it's going to drive Beckett crazy!"

"What's going to drive me crazy?" Beckett asked, coming through the door.

"This really is a treasure map, see?" Castle gloated.

"Castle, I knew that from doing police work. The guy who made it? He was Random's cell mate. He stole a fortune in sapphires that was never recovered. Random stole the map but gave it to Deon Carver as security for his bail money."

"Sounds like you need to have another chat with Random."

"Yeah, Espo went to get him. He took Ryan with him. He re-qualified. He has his weapon back."

Alexis laid a protective hand on her father's arm. "Just keep him away from my Dad."

Castle kissed his daughter's forehead. "It's okay Pumpkin. I'm sure he'll confine himself to shooting the bad guys. Why'd you come back here?" Castle asked.

"Came to get you," Beckett responded. "Thought you might want in when I talk to Random again, also desperate for some of that leftover tomato and basil pizza."

Alexis looked guilty."Um, we don't have any."

"Not a problem!" Castle declared. "I'll call Stephano's and get some delivered to the precinct."

"You can get pizza delivered over the bridge?" Beckett questioned.

Castle gave her a self-satisfied smile. "I tip very well."

Beckett and Castle were sitting over pizza in the break room when Beckett's phone buzzed."What's wrong?" Castle asked at the obvious distress on her face.

"That was Ryan," she reported. "He and Espo are on their way back from Central Booking. Random wasn't there. He and Espo hung around for a while checking to see if the paperwork had been screwed up somehow, but it wasn't. Mike never brought him in."

* * *

><p>Beckett stared at Royce's picture, newly clipped to the murder board. "I can't believe he lied to me."<p>

Castle drew her into the protective circle of his arm. "Money makes people do crazy things. Look at any reality show contestant who ever ate a cockroach. Doesn't mean he killed Carver."

Beckett pulled away. "Yeah well, until I find otherwise, I'm going to have to assume that he did. Do you think he came here to see the map?"

"No," Castle began to answer, "Oh no!"

"What?" Beckett asked.

"When I took the picture of the two of you, you were standing right in front of the map on the murder board."

"Damn!" Beckett muttered. "So he has a copy."

"Yes," Castle agreed. "But obviously he can't figure it out. That's why he was here, to see if we did."

"Yo!" Esposito called from across the bullpen. "I pulled the files on the jewelry heist. Your boy Royce was part of the investigation."

Beckett sighed and shook her head. "So he knew about the treasure from the start."

"We put surveillance on his apartment and an APB out on his car," Ryan added, coming across the bullpen.

"What about 'under the gun?'" Beckett asked as Ryan winced. "Any idea what that means?"

"Not yet," Ryan answered, trying to shake off his reaction. "There was a gun club about five blocks from the heist but it was torn down and turned into condos about ten years ago."

"Well keep looking," Beckett ordered, as a relieved Ryan moved away. "You know Castle, I think I know where Royce might be. There was a house that used to belong to his grandfather, on Staten Island. It was kind of a shack really, but it had a great garage. He used to work on the muscle cars he likes there. We even worked a little bit on my Harley."

* * *

><p>The rundown house and the garage were dark. Beckett and Esposito approached cautiously, guns drawn, with Castle behind them. There was no sign of Royce, but they found Random chained in the garage to the kind of heavy metal shelving used to hold car parts and tools. Royce had left him with bags of snacks and a two liter soft drink bottle, now almost empty.<p>

"Oh thank God!" Random exclaimed. "That dude totally kidnapped me."

"Knock it off!" Beckett told him impatiently. "We already know about the map."

"All right Detective, but you gotta get me loose," Random implored. "I need to take a leak like nobody's business."

"You talk to me first," Beckett commanded. "Where's Royce?"

"He's out looking for my money," Random replied squirming uncomfortably. "Look, I'm a victim in all this. I bunked with a geezer who wouldn't shut up about his ten million dollar score, how he buried it and how no one could find it without the map. Then I had to partner with Carver to stay out of jail and all he did was brag about how he was going to put one over on Brooke, his bitch of a wife."

"Did that discussion take place in Carvers office?" Beckett asked as Castle looked at her questioningly.

"We found a bug she planted there," Beckett explained, turning toward Castle. "She said she was trying to catch Carver in an affair."

"Seriously?" Random asked.

"Call Ryan," Beckett ordered Esposito. "Have him find Brooke."

"Uh, Detective, how about letting me loose now?"

"Relax Random," Beckett instructed. "Uniforms will be here in about two minutes. Lucky for you, they carry bolt cutters."

"You okay, Kate?" Castle asked as she drove through the darkness back to Manhattan.

"Sure," Beckett replied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Come on Kate," Castle urged. "I thought we were past that kind of thing. Your ideal cop, someone you loved and admired, turns out to be a crook and possibly a murderer. That has to hurt."

"Castle, one thing Mike taught me is that almost anyone can be capable of almost anything with a strong enough motivation. I never knew he was talking about himself, but I should have remembered. I'll be fine."

Castle silently put a comforting hand on her thigh as he saw tears leak from the corners of her eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 10

Beckett swiped a hand across her eyes as her cell phone rang. She pushed a button to feed it through the speakers of the car. "Hey Beckett, it's Ryan. Brooke Carver was spotted near Deon Carver's office." Hands clenched on the wheel, Beckett pressed down on the accelerator.

At Carver's office, Beckett silently pointed to the broken seal on the door and drew her gun. She entered warily, signaling Castle to stay behind her as her eyes swept the room. Finally she lowered her weapon. "There's no one here, we just missed her."

Castle pointed to a drawing on the desk. "That looks a lot like the map."

Beckett shook her head in disgust. "Yeah, I showed it to her when I was interviewing her about Deon. Her hands shook when she held it. I thought it was just grief, but she was really desperate to see it. She heard them figure it out on the bug she planted."

"But without the map, what she heard was useless." Castle mused.

"Uh huh," Beckett agreed. "She tried to recreate the map from memory. See," she said, pointing to a clipboard next to the drawing, "those are notes she took when she was listening in. See, right here, 'under the gun.' That treasure could be buried anywhere."

"No it can't be," Castle contended. "New York is basically an island of concrete. Random's bunk mate, what was his name? Lloyd? He'd have made sure to bury it someplace where it couldn't be dug up or torn down to make condos."

"Like a park?" Beckett suggested.

"Or a cemetery," Castle countered holding up a flyer.

Beckett's face lit with sudden realization. "Those weren't lines on the map, they were gravestones!" Beckett pulled out her phone to call Ryan and Esposito.

* * *

><p>"You know," Ryan said as he and Esposito walked through the cemetery guns drawn, "if this were a horror movie, we'd be the first ones killed, splitting off like this."<p>

"Yeah," Esposito retorted, "except that we're not a couple of top heavy co-eds, we're highly trained officers of the law with enough firepower to take out a horde of undead."

"Hispanic and cocky, you'd definitely be the first," Ryan declared turning toward Esposito, who tried to avoid flinching.

"Just watch where you point that gun, bro," Esposito cautioned.

Ryan drew a shaky breath.

Castle and Beckett walked through the gravestones out of the sight of Ryan and Esposito. "You know," Castle said, trying to lighten the mood, "If this was a horror movie..."

"Castle, focus!" Beckett hissed.

Castle's flashlight caught an ornate marker. "There it is! Look, wrong spelling, but Gunn."

"Castle, someone's been digging," Beckett noted, shining her light on a hole behind the stone and drawing her gun. "Watch it!"

Brooke Carver stepped out of the darkness, pointing a weapon of her own. "Drop the gun!"

"I can't do that," Beckett said, wishing that Castle was wearing his Kevlar vest.

"Then we've got a problem," Brooke replied, gesturing with the barrel of her gun.

"You're not a cop killer, Brooke," Beckett argued, while fully aware Castle was no cop. "I know you didn't mean to kill Deon. You were looking for the map."

"To hell with that!" Brooke exclaimed. "Of course I meant to kill him. After ten years with his foot fetish and snoring, he betrays me like that? I deserve that treasure and I'm not leaving here without it."

Beckett heard the sound of a gun being cocked and saw Royce, pointing a shotgun at Brooke. "No you don't, sweetheart!"

With the sound of running footsteps, Ryan and Esposito appeared, guns still drawn. "NYPD!" Esposito shouted. "Drop your weapons!"

The weapon wielders faced each other in a circular stand off. "How about you, Royce?" Beckett asked, fighting to keep her voice even. "You willing to shoot me for that treasure?"

"In case you haven't noticed kid," Royce pointed out, "my gun's not pointed at you."

"But my gun is," Brooke interjected. "You and your friend, there. No one is taking that stash but me."

"Well," Beckett suggested as an attempt to distract Brooke, "maybe we should make sure if the jewels are even there before we start shooting. Castle, do you mind?" she asked, indicating the shovel stuck in the dirt in the hole.

Castle unconsciously fingered the chest muscles still sore from his earlier therapy session. "Why me?"

"Because you're the only one not holding a gun," Beckett replied. "Sorry."

Castle painfully began removing dirt from the hole. "I think I hit something!" he exclaimed.

"That's mine!" Brooke shouted, leaning over the hole. Castle tossed the dirt from his shovel into her eyes. Beckett dived on Brooke, taking her down and cuffing her.

"Just like old times, right kid?" Royce commented.

"Drop the gun," Esposito ordered and Royce obeyed.

Pulling a pair of cuffs from his belt Royce handed them to Beckett. "Do what you gotta do, kid."

Beckett bit her lip as she cuffed her former mentor. "Michael Royce, you're under arrest."

As Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan led their prisoners off to their units, Castle shouted after them, "Uh, hello! Doesn't anyone want to see if there actually is a treasure?"

Ryan turned back, coming to take the shovel from Castle. "I got it, bro."

It was close to sunrise when Castle and Beckett were tucked beneath the covers of his king sized bed. Beckett's head was nestled securely under Castle's arm while her hand lent extra warmth to the still sore muscles in his chest. "It was nice of Ryan to take over the digging," Castle commented.

"It's his fault you needed the help," Beckett noted, feeling the scarred flesh beneath her fingers.

"Kate, you're going to have to let go of that," Castle advised. "I have. At least he found the treasure."

"You know we have to return it to the rightful owners, right Castle?" Beckett cautioned.

"I know," Castle conceded, "but it's the satisfaction of solving the puzzle that's the fun. It's not like I need the money, although ten million is a hell of a lot, even to me."

"Just how rich are you Castle?" Beckett asked. "Or am I out of line?"

"No you're you're not," Castle replied, kissing her hair. "If I'm going to tell anyone my secrets, it's you. But the truth is, I don't know, at least not day to day. I know what's in my actual bank accounts. I get to go through the pain of writing checks to Gina and paying Alexis' cell phone bill, but I have a business manager that keeps track of my investments. I know he was smart and got me out of most of what crashed when the recession hit, so I'm pretty well fixed. Also my house in Hamptons and this loft kept appreciating despite the bursting of the housing bubble. I'm not due a statement for about another month, but I can ask for one earlier, if you're interested."

"No need, Castle," Beckett murmured, moving her hand further down his body. "I'm not after you for your money."

"Yeah, then what, Detective?" Castle teased.

Beckett sat up, brushing the hair from his forehead and running a finger lightly over his lips. Bending close to his face she whispered, "You, I just want you."

A/N Happy New Year to all my readers. You make my days.


	11. Chapter 11

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 11

The grass left drops of dew on Castle's shoes as he and Beckett made their way across Central Park to the murder scene. The both held coffees, rapidly cooling in the morning chill. Lanie looked up from a body. "Hey, I'm the one who always get's here first, you ever think to bring me a coffee once in a while?"

Castle surprised, having never seen Lanie with coffee extended his cup. "You can have the rest of mine."

"Actually I don't drink coffee, but would it kill you to bring me a bear claw?" Castle reached into his pocket to bring out a small paper bag and extended it to her. Lanie looked at him in amazement, as she opened it to view the desired pastry. "How did you know?"

Castle inclined his head toward Beckett. "She knew you'd be cranky this early without something to eat."

"Speaking of killing...," Beckett prompted her friend.

"Single GSW to the chest, large caliber, probably a forty five," Lanie reported. "Lividity suggests time of death around midnight."

"Hey, I have those boxers," Castle noted. "Thomas Nash. Very pricey. Our guy here had money. British brand, amazingly soft, like silk."

A smile came to Beckett's lips, remembering the soft fabric against her fingers as she pulled it away from Castle's body. Castle caught her look and returned the smile.

Lanie loudly cleared her throat, pulling Beckett out of her reverie. "So what was this guy doing out here practically naked at midnight?" Beckett pondered.

Castle started to open his mouth but was interrupted by Lanie. "Don't bother with any of your perverted theories, Castle. I found fibers in the bullet hole."

"Which means he was wearing clothes when he was shot," Beckett concluded.

"That doesn't make any sense," Castle puzzled. "The killer shot him and then hung around to take the bloody clothes off him?"

"Maybe the killer worried that there was forensic evidence on the clothes that would connect them," Beckett speculated.

"Yo!" Esposito shouted, coming across the grass with Ryan, towards them. "Uni found this wallet in a garbage can near 5th." Esposito handed Beckett an evidence bag while Ryan held up a driver's license.

"Photo on the license matches Captain Underpants here," Ryan said, indicating the body. He wilted under disapproving stares from Beckett and Esposito. "Sorry, my nephew loves those books."

Beckett took the license. "Daniel Goldstein, twenty-five, lives in Soho. Expensive neighborhood."

"Yeah," Esposito agreed. "Looks like a Wall Street type. He's got a work I.D. From Burman Rose.

"So he lived downtown and worked downtown," Castle noted. "What's he doing up here?"

Beckett handed the evidence to Esposito. "Maybe we can find out. Let's get this to the lab."

"Right," Esposito agreed.

As Beckett began walking away, Castle hurried to catch up, whispering softly in her ear. "You know, I could get you something really comfortable to slip into - or better yet out of."

Beckett bumped her hip against his. "Working now, Castle. We'll talk about slipping out of something later."

"I am going to hold you to that," Castle promised.

* * *

><p>A tearful Rachel Goldstein sat in the interview lounge; a damp tissue shredded under her fingers. "His clothes were taken? Why would anyone take his clothes?"<p>

"We don't know, Ms. Goldstein," Beckett said in the low calming voice she used with victims' families. "Can you tell us what your brother might have been doing in the park?"

"That late?" Rachel asked. "I have no idea."

"Well the place Daniel was found is known for drug activity. Drug use on Wall street is hardly unknown. Was he using?" Beckett asked.

"No!" Rachel replied vehemently. "Danny barely even drank. He was always running equations in his head. He never wanted to do anything that would compromise his mind."

Beckett decided to take another tack. "Did he have any enemies or conflicts that you know of?"

"No." Rachel insisted. "Look, none of this is like him. Our parents both died in a car accident when he was twelve and since then he's been obsessively cautious."

"What about dating?" Castle asked. "Was there anyone special in his life?"

Rachel shook her head. "No. I wish there had been. He barely had a social life, or social skills. I mean he was a sweetheart but a total dork. He was always at work anyway."

"What did he do at Burman Rose?" Castle inquired.

"It was a lot of math. I didn't really understand a lot of it," Rachel confessed. "He was a genius. He had a Ph.D. from MIT. They offered him obscene amounts of money and recruited him right out of school to create financial products. He was generous with what they paid him, though. He bought my apartment for me."

Ryan knocked on the door of the lounge. "The lab found a fingerprint on the wallet," he reported to Beckett as she joined him in the hall. "Espo and I went to bring the guy in but..."

"What?" Beckett prompted, before seeing a pained Esposito sitting on a desk outside interrogation, wearing a neck brace.

"Oh no!" Beckett exclaimed. "Who did that?"

Ryan indicated the observation window into interrogation, where Beckett could see a mountain-like man, cuffed and guarded by several uniformed officers. Ryan handed her a file. "Multiple assaults and there was an unregistered forty-five in his apartment?" Beckett read. "Slam dunk. Have him taken to holding. As soon as Lanie confirms it was a forty-five and ballistics runs the bullet, we can charge him."

"He insists he didn't do it," Ryan told her.

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Of course he does." Beckett lowered her voice to a near whisper. "Why didn't Espo go home?"

Ryan shook his head. "I don't know. Montgomery said he could, but he says he's fine. You know Javi. He always has to be tough."

"Yeah," Beckett nodded with understanding, "I do."

* * *

><p>"It's not a forty-five." Lanie reported to Beckett's consternation.<p>

"Are you sure?" Beckett asked as her friend fixed her with a look.

"Thirty-eight?" Castle asked.

"Nope," Lanie replied, "and it's not a forty-four or a three-fifty-seven or a nine millimeter or any other kind of bullet I've ever seen."

Castle vibrated with excitement. "So it's a new kind of bullet?"

"Not new at all," Lanie replied, flipping on her lighted magnifier. "Check it out."

"It's round!" Beckett observed.

Lanie pointed. "See that white coating?"

"Yeah," Beckett confirmed. "What is it, oxidation?"

"Yep, and based on the amount of it, I'd say that bullet is two hundred years old," Lanie told her.

Castle could hardly contain his glee. "A two hundred year old bullet can only mean one thing. Our killer is a time traveler! He slipped out of a time ripple."

Shaking her head, Beckett headed out of the morgue to the elevator, with Castle trailing after her still talking. "Our killer could have entered through a time ripple, killed Danny Goldstein and then slipped back out through the time ripple again."

"Will you stop talking about slipping out of time ripples?" Beckett requested in exasperation as the doors to the elevator closed on them.

"Tell you what, "Castle proposed, pushing her hair back and brushing his lips against her neck, "for now we're out of leads anyway. How about we go back to the loft and you make good on your promise to slip out of something."

Beckett stretched upward for a quick kiss before they reached their floor. "Deal."


	12. Chapter 12

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 12

Returning with Castle from interviewing employees at Burman Rose, Beckett put her phone on speaker. "Hey, it's Ryan. Javi knew a gun expert we talked to about the ball Lanie dug out of Danny Goldstein. He said it would have to come out of an antique weapon. I've been trying to keep Javi from having to move around too much, so I've been looking at people who lost big investing in that fund of Danny's, you told us about. Javi's been looking at antique gun owners. We found a connection, one Ivan 'Yosemite Sam' Podofski. I have unis out picking him up now."

"We'll be right there," Beckett told him. "You know Castle," Beckett said as she drove back to the 12th, the real shame of that fund was not that a bunch of millionaires lost money."

"I'm not sure they'd look at it that way," Castle disagreed. "I wouldn't."

"Come on Castle," Beckett chided. "Remember Julia told us that Danny invested some of his own money in it, to fund a charity. That would have fallen apart too."

"You're right," Castle agreed, looking thoughtful.

Beckett glanced at him sideways. "What's on your mind, Castle? I know that look."

Castle shook his head. "Maybe nothing. I'll have to check something out."

"You can work on it later," Beckett told him. "Right now we need to talk to Podofski."

* * *

><p>Beckett regarded Podofski through the window of interrogation. "he really does look like Yosemite Sam."<p>

Castle shook his head dismissively. "Nah, he's got the mustache, but he's way too tall. That's what made Yosemite Sam so feisty. He was overcompensating for his lack of stature."

Beckett stifled a giggle. "Okay Castle, if you're finished psychoanalyzing a fictional character, we can go question a real person."

Beckett used a laptop to play a threatening message Podofski left for Danny Goldstein and also to display his gun collection.

"I think some context is in order," Podofski protested. "I had only just lost four million dollars."

"Yes," Castle agreed, "and in that context you threatened to kill Mr. Goldstein and then he was killed."

"Where were you Monday night between eleven and one?" Beckett questioned.

"Asleep in my bed," Podofski responded.

"And can anyone vouch for that?" Beckett pushed.

"Me!" Podofski retorted.

"Myself and I got your back too?" Castle returned.

Podofski leaned over the table. "Okay, look. I know how this appears, but there's an explanation."

"Fire away," Beckett told him skeptically.

"Several months ago I had a consultation with Burman Rose," Podofski related. When I mentioned my guns, Goldstein asked if I knew how he could get a hold of a Sherlock Holmes gun."

Castle shook his head in disbelief. "So you're pointing the finger at Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?"

"I'm saying," Podofski insisted, "that Goldstein clearly had an interest in antique guns. Maybe that interest got him killed."

"If," Beckett asserted, "you're so confident that Goldstein got mixed up with someone else, I'm sure you won't mind submitting your collection to ballistics for testing."

"Those are antiques!" Podofski objected.

"You will be too by the time you get out of here," Castle pointed out.

"All right," Podofski conceded. "Just tell them to be careful."

"Hey Castle," Ryan called as Castle and Beckett stood looking at Podofski's picture on the murder board. "Traffic got a hit on Goldstein's car. You'll never guess what he drives."

Castle took the report Ryan held out. "A DeLorean? You've got to be kidding me!"

"Why, what's so special about a DeLorean?" Beckett asked.

"Beckett, a DeLorean was the car used for time travel in _Back to the Future_. Maybe we really are talking about a time traveler!" Castle proposed excitedly.

Beckett rolled her eyes. "It seems a lot more likely that ballistics will find a match from Podofski's gun collection."

"Yeah, well while we're waiting, I thought I'd take Javi up and look at the car," Ryan told her. "He wants to do something and it shouldn't jostle him around too much. The car's around eighty-second and Lex. Goldstein got several tickets in that area. The latest one was post mortem, so the car should still be there. Wherever Goldstein was going might be in the area. We may pick up on it."

"Okay, "Beckett agreed. "Let me know if you find anything."

* * *

><p>Ryan gazed at the multi-ticketed DeLorean. "Do you believe that? Just like the one in the movie. Maybe Goldstein was a time traveler."<p>

"Bro, if he had a time machine, he should have been able to go to the future, right?" Esposito contended.

"Maybe, so?" Ryan wondered.

"So, he would have found out that his fund would tank and stopped it. It's just a tricked out car," Esposito declared triumphantly.

Ryan spotted a man coming towards them pushing a shopping cart and wearing bloodstained period clothes. "Javi look!"

Ryan pulled out his badge. "Excuse me sir. I'm Detective Ryan and this is Detective Esposito. Do you mind if we ask you some questions?"

"Ah, top of the morning to you, Constables," the man replied tipping his hat, "Lord Henry at your service."

"Thanks," Ryan responded. "Would you mind telling us where you got those clothes?"

"Not at all, dear boy," Lord Henry answered. "I picked them up at the haberdashery across the park. Now if that is all, I shall bid you gentlemen good day."

"Just a minute pal," Esposito put in. "We think those clothes might have been involved in..."

"Good day!" Lord Henry repeated forcefully.

"Sir we need you to...," Esposito attempted to continue.

"I said good day!" Lord Henry shouted, aiming his cart toward Esposito. Ryan moved quickly, stepping in front of the cart. As it bashed into his chest, he pulled it aside, tackling and cuffing a fleeing Lord Henry. Ryan loaded the subdued suspect into the back their unmarked unit.

"Hey man, you took that hit for me," Esposito acknowledged. "Thanks."

"No problem man," Ryan assured him. "Partners are there for each other, right?"

"Yeah," Esposito agreed thoughtfully. "Look man, about the grief I've been giving you about shooting Castle. I'm sorry. I know you didn't mean to do it."

"Yeah well, you were right. I should have seen whom I was shooting at, but peace?" Ryan asked, holding up a hand.

Esposito caught Ryan's hand in a firm grasp. "You got it bro."

"You know," Ryan pondered as he drove back to the 12th. "Castle forgave me, even when he was still in the hospital. But I don't know if Beckett ever will."

"Come on man, everyone could see the sparks between those two the minute she brought him in for questioning two years ago." Esposito recalled. "She's crazy about him!"

"You're right there," Ryan agreed.

"Beckett was just too stubborn to admit her feelings for him to herself," Esposito continued. "Obviously she did when he was shot. She was terrified of losing him. How would you feel if someone shot Jenny? That's going to take a lot to get past. You haven't been back that long. Hang in there. Give her time."

Ryan nodded. "Thanks partner. I will."

A/N Now that we're past the holidays I'll be bugging you again. Start off the year giving kids clean water. I'll be tweeting my Charity Water link.


	13. Chapter 13

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 13

Beckett put down her phone. "That was Lanie. She found gunshot residue on the clothes CSU took off Lord Henry."

Castle's eyes widened. "So Danny Goldstein wasn't just shot, he shot back."

Beckett nodded. "We need to get CSU back to the park."

Castle watched as CSU scanned the grass with a metal detector. "Detective Beckett, got something!" a tech called. A man dropped a white coated lead ball into an evidence bag and marked it before handing it to Beckett, who immediately showed it to Castle.

"That's just like the one Danny Goldstein was shot with," Castle observed. "Beckett," Castle asked, looking toward the taped off crime scene, just how far do you think we are from where Danny was shot?"

Beckett saw the realization in Castle's eyes. "Castle, what are you getting at?"

Castle was already moving away, counting his paces. "Forty -ish," he pronounced as he ducked under the tape.

Beckett followed "Castle?"

"Beckett don't you see?" Castle asked, beaming. "Goldstein was wearing turn of the century formal clothes. It was about midnight. I bet he could hear the bells chiming from here. They stood at about forty paces from each other firing antique pistols. Goldstein was killed in an old fashioned duel!"

The cappuccino machine hissed as Castle made two lattes. He handed one to Beckett as she came through the door of the break room. "None of Podofski's guns matched the ball that killed Goldstein," she announced.

"Well, Podofski isn't really the formal dueling type," Castle offered. "He's more showdown at high noon."

"Well that leaves us without a suspect again," Beckett said in disgust as she and Castle returned to the murder board.

"Maybe not," Ryan suggested, joining them from the bullpen. "I was going through a pile of receipts I got out of Goldstein's car he might have been planning to submit for reimbursement. One of them was for coffee with Troy Kenworth. That name kind of rang a bell."

"One of Danny's angry investors?" Castle asked.

"No, but his father Charles Kenworth was," Ryan replied. "Guy loses two million bucks, then he loses his house, his marriage and then two months ago he killed himself."

"Did Troy have any priors?" Beckett queried.

"More like afters," Ryan corrected. "After his father killed himself, he was charged with assault in four bar fights."

Sparkles brightened the deep blue of Castle's eyes. "Ah, revenge! Oldest motive for murder in the book. Maybe Troy thought someone besmirched his father's honor."

"And then forced Goldstein to settle the score," Beckett continued.

Beckett sat opposite Troy Kenworth in interrogation. The tough body set she usually used to intimidate suspects was nowhere in evidence. Castle watched through the window.

"Yeah, I was the one who found his body," Troy responded to Beckett's gentle questioning.

"The report says that he used a shot gun," Beckett noted quietly as Montgomery joined Castle.

"Why aren't you in there?" Montgomery inquired.

"Beckett's doing a mothering thing," Castle explained. "Wanted to limit the testosterone in the room."

"Can't imagine walking in on that," Beckett continued with Troy, sympathetically.

"Yeah, pretty messy," Troy recalled. "I try not to think about it."

"I understand," Beckett soothed. "But since then, Mr. Kenworth, you have charges pending in four assault cases."

"I started drinking too much," Troy replied defensively. "I lashed out."

Beckett leaned in, still feigning sympathy. "But those were just random people in bars. They weren't responsible for your father's suicide. But Goldstein... he put your father in the fund that lost him all his money. I could understand blaming him."

"I did," Troy confided. "But then I talked to him and he said he warned Pop to diversify. And the fact is Dad and Mom had been having problems for years. When we lost the house and I had to drop out of school, it was the last straw and Mom left him. That's what pushed him over the edge. And ever since his death, Mom's been struggling to make payments on the apartment."

"Is that why you went to see Goldstein three weeks ago?" Beckett probed.

"Look," Troy replied, "I wanted to figure out if there was any money left in the account, but he was straight with me. He told me it was all gone."

Beckett moved in for the take down. "That must have made you pretty angry."

"Okay," Troy told her, "I know what you're getting at, but you're wrong. That meeting is what turned me around. I haven't had a drink since and Mom and I have been able to stay in the apartment. Danny was a stand up guy. He gave me a job."

"At Burman Rose?" Beckett asked, confused.

"Troy looked at the table. "Uh, no."

Beckett's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What kind of job did Danny give you?"

"I can't say," Troy protested. "I signed a confidentiality agreement. I could be fired."

"Or you could be arrested," Beckett reminded him.

Castle turned gleefully to Montgomery. "Want to bet that job is on 82nd between Lex and Third?"

Beckett rapped with an ornate door knocker. Eyes peered out a peephole through goggles. "What was the exact number of pounds Mr. Fogg bet that he could travel around the world in eight days?"

Castle stepped up excitedly. "Twenty thousand!"

"Correct," the man acknowledged. "What was the name of the volcano that led to the center of the earth?"

Castle hesitated for a moment. "I want to say..."

Exasperated, Beckett held up her badge. "NYPD! Open up."

Taken aback, the goggled man pulled back the heavy door. Castle looked around in delighted wonder. Men and women strolled in period clothing. Some bore mechanical devices with a strangely futuristic feel. A man in a top hat rode a steam powered penny farthing bicycle, reciting strange poetry.

"Where are we?" Beckett asked.

"Victorian London," Goggles replied.

"When are we?" Castle marveled.

"1892."

"Oh, the year Tolkien was born!" Castle exclaimed.

As Castle joyously took in the costumes and the props, Beckett scanned the room for familiar faces. "Adam!" she shouted, spotting one of Goldstein's colleagues from Burman Rose.

The man fled for the exit. "Stop him!" Beckett yelled to an approaching Ryan, who after an initial startle, chased after him and took him down.

* * *

><p>Adam Murphy sat hunched over the table, head in his hands. "Yeah, I shot him," he confessed. "He just kind of crumpled over backwards. I thought he was kidding. I jogged over, expecting him to jump up any second. He was just lying there, so still and then I saw the blood and I heard Julia. She was on her knees screaming, 'no, please! God no!' I freaked out. I took his clothes and just ran."<p>

Beckett struggled to keep the distraught man's attention. "Julia? You mean Goldstein's assistant?"

"He was in love with her," Adam revealed.

"Had they been seeing each other for a long time?" Castle asked.

Adam shook his head. "No, no, Danny just kissed her once, a couple of weeks ago out at a bar. She wasn't interested in him."

"So you were involved with her?" Beckett questioned.

Adam sighed. "Not really. Danny and I, we're - we were - a couple of dorks, not exactly a woman's dream, but Danny caught us - Julia and me - just fooling around in my office late one night last week."

Beckett looked at him incredulously. "And you couldn't think of any better way of settling it than a duel?"

"No, we just thought it would be funny," Adam protested. "No one was supposed to get hurt. Danny ran all these complex equations. He swore it would be impossible for us to hit each other at any distance. Something about lack of rifling in the barrel."

"So if you couldn't kill each other, what was the point of the duel?" Castle puzzled.

Tears began to flow down Adam's face. "It was so stupid! We wanted to impress Julia. It seemed like neither one of us had a chance with her otherwise, but if we fought a duel over her, maybe one of us..."

Adam sobbed as emotion surged through him. "Danny was my friend, and I shot him! How could I do that? How could anyone do that?"

Silently, Beckett walked out of the room, leaving Adam at the table, head pillowed on his arms. Castle followed after her. "Kate, are you all right?"

Beckett leaned her head against the warmth of his chest, and Castle could feel tears soaking the fabric of his shirt. "I just realized." Beckett murmured as he stroked her hair. "The way Adam feels, the guilt, the shame, that's how Ryan feels about shooting you. He was my friend long before I met you and I've been a total jerk about him."

Castle put two fingers under her chin, lifting her eyes to his. "You've been a protective lover. No one, not even Ryan would blame you for that. But maybe you can move forward now."

Eyes still damp, Beckett gazed up from the comforting circle of Castle's arms. "Yeah, yeah I think I can."


	14. Chapter 14

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 14

"I'm surprised you're letting Julia go," Castle commented as he and Beckett left interrogation. "She knew what happened all along and she didn't tell you. You usually look at that as obstruction of justice."

"I'll let the D.A. worry about that later," Beckett replied. "Right now we have another problem. If those antique dueling pistols are as inaccurate as Adam said, then shooting Danny was an accident and I should recommend manslaughter to the D.A.. If not, it's murder."

Sounds like there's only one thing to do," Castle concluded, bouncing with anticipation, "get the guns Danny and Adam used for the duel from the steam punk club and find out."

Castle was giddy. Not only was he getting to fire antique dueling pistols but he was doing it with Kate. Esposito's antique gun expert Abe Sandrich, loaded the gunpowder and the balls, apparently a delicate operation, and Beckett and Castle tried their best to hit their targets. At the urging of an officer who had his own time at the range disrupted by the wildly mis-aimed balls, Castle used a sandbag, a vice, and finally a laser site. His balls still missed their mark, as did Beckett's. Castle and Beckett looked at each other in agreement. "Manslaughter it is," Beckett decided. "I'll start the paperwork."

"That's my cue to get out of here and get some writing done," Castle told her. "See you later?

"Yeah," Beckett replied absently.

Castle came home to find Alexis quickly pulling back with her newest boyfriend, Ashley. He tried hard to ignore her smeared lip gloss as she greeted him. "Dad, you smell like sulfur! What have you been doing?"

"Beckett and I were on the gun range," Castle replied, looking straight at Ashley, who paled visibly, as Castle revealed an antique pistol he'd purchased from Sandrich.

"Uh, I need to go now!" Ashley said, rising quickly from the couch.

"No Ashley stay," Alexis urged, fixing her father with a rebuking stare. "Dad isn't going to shoot you."

"No. of course," Castle agreed extending the handle of the gun toward the quaking teenager. "Here Ashley, this is cool. Have a look."

"No, Mr. Castle, I really have to gun, uh go!" Ashley stammered. "I just want you to know how much I respect you - and Alexis. She's the most respectable person I know." Ashley hurried toward the door.

"I like him, he's respectful!" Castle declared to his daughter, who angrily punched him in the arm and stomped up the stairs.

Hoping that Alexis would cool down, Castle went to his office, propping his feet on the desk, his laptop across his thighs. He was finishing a chapter when he heard the freezer door opening. He joined Alexis as she pulled out a gallon of ice cream. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare your boyfriend. The gun is like one in the case and you know how excited I get."

Alexis gave a wry laugh. "Yeah, I do. It's one of the things I love about you."

"Yeah, I know," Castle agreed, pulling her in for a hug. "But this reminds me," he said pointing to the still open freezer. "Beckett should be coming soon and I should put something nice, or better yet romantic, together for dinner."

"Ew," Alexis commented, grabbing the ice cream and moving away.

Castle had marinated steaks and was opening a bottle of red wine to air when Beckett came through the door. "Kate wait till you try this wine! I got it from... what's wrong?"

"Castle, after we were at the range I started thinking what the odds were against Adam actually shooting Danny, so I sent the pistols to ballistics. They didn't match. Adam Murphy didn't shoot Danny Goldstein. There was another shooter."

"Beckett," Castle exclaimed. "You're talking about a third shooter! A full on grassy knoll conspiracy!" He grabbed her in a bear hug. "I'm rubbing off on you!"

"Well if you're talking about the wine you just splashed on your shirt, yeah, it's rubbing off on me," Beckett teased. "But we need to reopen the case. We have the wrong man. We'll need to check the park again."

Castle made no move to release Beckett from his embrace. "Hey, it's dark. If there's anything to find, we'll have a much easier time in the morning and I've marinated the steaks to perfection."

Beckett closed her eyes and shook her head in bemusement. "Of course you have."

Castle was undaunted. "We'll have some wine and eat the delicious dinner I'm preparing and then - relax a bit. You can be super-cop tomorrow."

"You know," Beckett conceded, "That actually sounds great."

Beckett put down her glass and stretched with a soft yawn. "Tired?" Castle asked.

"A little," Beckett admitted.

Castle's eyes lowered in disappointment. "Too tired for...?"

Getting up from the table, Beckett smiled and ran her fingers over the stubble just starting to darken Castle's jaw. "No, actually I think I'm getting a second wind." Castle rose and held out his hand. Beckett carefully closed both the office door and the bedroom door behind them, knowing Alexis was in the loft and Martha would be returning from the theater. "How's the chest?" she asked Castle, slipping her hand beneath his shirt. "Between this case and your writing you've been working pretty hard. No twinges?"

"A couple of times when I was trying to brace the gun," Castle admitted. "That thing has a kick. But right now I couldn't feel better."

"Well," Beckett purred saucily, "we'll see about that." She pressed her lips to the vee of skin at his open collar.

Castle gasped, plunging his fingers into her hair and pulling her head up so her lips met his own. They tumbled down to the welcoming bed, Castle pulling off Beckett's jacket. Their lips met again more deeply. Lingering thoughts of the case fell way, for Beckett there was only the heat against her mouth and the stirrings rising in her core. She moved against him, her lips never leaving his. Breath coming more heavily, he drew her beneath him. "You did get your second wind," he gasped. "No more worries about getting your man?"

"Castle, the only man I want is you!"

Beckett blinked as the early morning sunlight sneaked through the window into her eyes. She felt the bare bed beside her and looked around the room to see a robed Castle searching through the clothes that lay in a wide scatter pattern around the bed. "Castle, what are you doing?"

"Trying to find my belt," Castle answered. "It's got an antique buckle on it that is strangely appropriate to this case."

Beckett felt something poking at the back of her neck and reached under her pillow. "Castle," she called enticingly, pulling out the searched for item.

Castle turned to look. "Uh how, how did...?"

"Castle come here," Kate beckoned.

Grinning, Castle climbed back on the bed. "So Detective," he inquired leaning over her and brushing the now wild hair from her face, "how exactly did my belt end up under your pillow?"

Castle's robe fell open as Beckett pulled the sash free. "Mr. Castle, I'm just going to have to show you."


	15. Chapter 15

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 15

Still in a neck brace, Javier Esposito walked the grass of the Central Park meadow. "If CSU didn't find the slug the first time," he surmised to Ryan, "it must have had an upward trajectory. Maybe into those trees up there." Beckett and Castle came hurriedly walking up, slightly out of breath. "So where have you two been?" Esposito asked, before catching the satisfied look on Castle's face. "Never mind! We're going to look for the bullet in those trees."

Esposito looked up as he reached the clump of trees. "Hey partner, I'll do that," Ryan told him, boosting himself upward. "Well," he reported sadly as he climbed down the tree, "Danny didn't kill Goldstein but he killed Squirrelstein." Ryan dropped the furry corpse into an evidence bag held out by a sighing CSU tech.

"Hey Kevin," Beckett told him, putting a hand on his arm, "good job. Let's have a talk soon, okay?"

Their conversation was cut short by Esposito. "If Danny's bullet came this way," Esposito speculated, "Then the shooter might have shot from this direction as well. From one of these trees would have been a perfect place."

"Beckett look," Castle said, pointing at a scrap of burgundy velvet caught in the bark of a nearby trunk.

Beckett smiled. "Recognize that? Looks kind of steam punk, doesn't it?"

Castle nodded. "I'd recognize that anywhere, and I think I even know the weapon."

* * *

><p>Making the walk from where Beckett parked her unit tothe steam punk club, Castle caught sight of a tall dark man standing beside a motorcycle and waving at Beckett, who smiled and returned the greeting. Castle stiffened. "Who's that?"<p>

"Castle, let's just take care of the case. I'll tell you later," Beckett assured him. "Okay?"

"All right," Castle agreed grudgingly, staring back at the handsome figure.

Beckett rapped heavily with the knocker on the club door. "Sniffles!" Castle blurted enthusiastically as Goggles appeared. "The volcano in _Journey to the Center of the Earth_ was Sniffles."

"Correct," Goggles acknowledged as Beckett barged through the door.

Castle and Beckett found Troy Wentworth tending bar. "Couldn't stay away," Troy quipped. "Can I get you guys something?"

"Sure Troy," Beckett replied. "We're looking for a shooter."

"Actually, I think we already found one. By the way, nice uniform," Castle added, looking at the slightly torn sleeve.

"We found your father's shotgun," Beckett continued. "We know you modified it in order to shoot antique lead balls."

Troy couldn't keep the slight quaver from his voice. "What are you talking about? Adam Murphy already confessed, right?"

"Well," Castle informed him, "turns out Adam Murphy couldn't have done it. It's a science-y ballistics thing, kind of a comedy of eras."

Beckett groaned and continued the narration. "It was pretty clever, firing your father's shotgun at the exact moment Adam and Danny fired their guns, although we did find the marks from the site you put on it to shoot in the dark."

"Making Adam believe he was the one who killed Danny, right as the bells chimed midnight," Castle finished. "Isn't that right?"

"Seeing him here every night, in that ridiculous outfit just throwing away money," Troy fumed. "Why should he get to live like that when my dad is dead? I overheard Goldstein and Murphy planning the duel and I took my chance."

Beckett pulled out her handcuffs as she walked behind the bar. "Troy Wentworth, you're under arrest for the murder of Daniel Goldstein."

* * *

><p>Beckett raided the loft's amply stocked refrigerator for a snack. Piling a plate high with grapes and cheese, she went in search of Castle in his office. "Yeah, I just got it, thanks," Castle said into his phone as he pulled several sheets from the printer.<p>

"What's that?" Beckett asked as Castle put his phone down. "Financial statements, you can look if you want." Castle handed her the top sheets of paper. "Also some plans to pickup on what Danny Goldstein tried to do."

Beckett scanned the numbers filling the pages. "Castle, I had no idea! You have investments in everything, real estate, restaurants, even films."

"Oh yeah," Castle recalled, "I started with a little indie to get Meredith out of New York - you remember when she visited?"

Beckett sighed. "Vividly!"

"I had Meredith play the wife of the doctor who had the affair with a waitress," Castle continued. "The film did really well, it made the Sundance Festival. I got the bug a little bit, so I kept going and I've been really lucky, gotten to know a bunch of people in the industry too. But anyway, my business manager tells me I'll have no problem funding a little project."

"What project?" Beckett asked.

"Danny was like a lot of people, Adam too, really, who have a real talent in area like math, but have almost zero understanding about how to interact with people outside the circle of their own peculiar interests. It turned out badly for Danny, but it can be especially bad for some teenagers. They become isolated and sometimes suicidal," Castle explained solemnly. "I'm putting together a foundation to set up places where kids can go, or be guided by a parent or teacher to go, to learn social skills. That way they can be prepared for the world not just academically, but in a way that will allow them to navigate it in normal situations."

"Castle, that could have really helped some people I knew at Stanford," Beckett told him, putting down her documents to wrap her arms around his neck. "That's really sweet."

Castle's large hands almost spanned Beckett's waist. "All right now you know some of my secrets, tell me about motorcycle boy."

"Who?" Beckett asked, confused.

"The guy you waved to outside the steam punk club, Mr. Extremely Tall, Dark, and Flashy," Castle reminded her.

"Oh, Josh," Beckett recalled. "Yeah, we're both members of a cycling club. We've hung out together, worked on our bikes together."

"What is he, a mechanic?" Castle asked, guardedly.

"Um no, cardiac surgeon," Beckett replied. "But he was more interested in my Harley than my heart."

"Yeah, I bet!" Castle muttered.

"Castle, are you jealous?" Beckett asked.

"Depends," Castle told her. "What did you wear when you were - hanging out together."

"You know," Beckett teased, "cycling clothes - tight black leather pants, high boots."

Castle moaned. "You know, you could make this a lot better if you'd put those on for me."

Beckett licked her finger and ran it down Castle's chest. "I could do that, if you can take the strain, but I think I could do something better."

Castle swallowed. "Uh, what?"

"I could ride in what was under them."

Castle choked. Grabbing Beckett's hand, he ran the short distance to the bed, pulling her astride his lap. "Deal."

A/N There is a definite Easter egg in here. Check the cast list of Nathan Fillion's movie, _Waitress_.


	16. Chapter 16

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 16

Beckett and Ryan sat at a high table in the break room drinking freshly made lattes. "You're getting better at these," Ryan observed.

"Uh well, Castle has been giving me lessons." Beckett admitted.

"I bet he has," Ryan thought to himself, but sat silently waiting for Beckett to say what was on her mind.

"Um Ryan," Beckett began tentatively. "I've been meaning to talk to you for weeks, now. I don't have a good way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. I was really pissed at you for shooting Castle. I'm sure you knew it because I was being a bitch about it."

"Beckett, it's not like I didn't understand where you were coming from. We all could see how you felt about the guy, even if you weren't open about it like you are now," Ryan responded gently.

"Still," Beckett continued, "I could have behaved a lot better. Castle did, and he usually has the self control of a nine year old."

"He didn't watch someone he cared about bleeding out all over the floor at a murder scene," Ryan reminded her softly. "It's okay, Beckett."

"No," Beckett returned, "and I just wanted to say I'm sorry, Ryan. Friends?"

"Yeah Beckett," he assured her. "Where is Castle anyway? I wanted to show him something."

"He'll be along later. He had some video to watch, something about the Heat Wave movie," Beckett replied. "Speaking of which, there's someone I need to get back to. Check with you later?"

Ryan nodded over his coffee cup as Beckett climbed down from her stool.

* * *

><p>"Game over and you lose, Tom!" Natalie Rhodes shouted from the flat screen in Castle's office.<p>

"Put down the gun or I swear I'll blow his head off!" another actor shouted.

"You know I can't do that, Tom," Natalie returned.

The other actor continued to spew words. "You think I'm kidding around here, Detective Heat?"

"No," Natalie replied, lowering and softening her voice. "I think you feel trapped and you're serious as hell, but right now I need you to think about the people who love you, and they need you to put down that gun."

Castle hit the pause on the remote, grimacing in dismay. "I can't take it anymore! The character of Nikki Heat is a smart complicated detective with enormous - depth. And then the studio goes and casts the bra-less co-ed and blood soaked t-shirt from _Knife 2_?"

"Well _Knife 2_ made a lot of money, honey, thanks in no small part to Natalie Rhodes," Martha reminded him." "And your books aren't exactly Shakespeare."

"Thank you," Castle replied sarcastically. "I was hoping to elevate their stature by not casting the chainsaw-wielding hooker from _Hallowscream_."

"Hey!" Alexis interjected, "I like that movie." She backpedaled under her father's disapproving stare. "If I'd seen it, which I haven't."

"Look, this is an audition tape," Martha pointed out. "Give the girl a chance."

"According to U.S. Weekly, for her movie _Hell's Crawlspace_, she actually lived in her house's crawlspace for a week for the role," Alexis added.

"Well, there you go," Martha put in, "dedication to the craft."

"Well how about that dialogue?" Castle groused. "I mean how hackey is that? Think about the people who love you?" Like that's gonna stop a murderer. The screenwriter needs to spend some time in a crawlspace."

"Okay darling," Martha urged loosing patience, "enough with the complaining."

Castle's cell phone buzzed. "Pick it up, Dad," Alexis cajoled. "It will make you feel better."

"Beckett's going to hate this," Castle muttered as he thumbed his acceptance of the call.

Ryan hustled to Castle's side as he entered the alley where a dead body lay. "Hey Castle, how's it going?"

"Good," Castle replied, puzzled at Ryan's enthusiasm. "What's up?

Ryan pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket and opened it to display an engagement ring. Castle took the box, a flutter rising in his stomach. He examined the cut. For what he imagined Ryan could afford, the enamored cop had chosen well. Concealing the feelings rising within himself, Castle joked. "Ryan, I don't know what to say. I'm flattered but..."

"Oh c'mon!" Ryan exclaimed, "It's nice, right?"

Castle attempted his most reassuring smile. "Jenny is a lucky girl. So how you gonna pop the question? Hot air balloon? Jumbotron? Skywriter?"

Lines formed on Ryan's brow. "I thought I'd just ask."

"You can't just ask," Castle retorted.

"Ask what?" Beckett inquired, coming from the alley.

Castle held up the ring as his eyes met Beckett's. "Will you marry me?" Castle drew a shaky breath as their gaze held, until Ryan snatched the ring away. "I'll figure it out," he said.

Castle and Beckett struggled to return to the business at hand. "So who's the victim?" Castle asked.

"Stacy Collins," Beckett replied. "According to her business card, she's a high end matchmaker. Purse wallet, keys, cell phone still on her. Not a robbery. She was carrying an invitation for a party given for her by all the couples she matched up. It was supposed to end at ten and Lanie estimated that she died between ten and eleven."

"Gosh," Ryan mused. "You don't think someone she matched up killed her? Why would a married person kill the woman who brought them so much happiness?"

"If she did. My mother introduced me to Meredith and I've had moments...," Castle recalled. "Still, Meredith gave me Alexis. Someone else might not have been nearly as lucky." Castle's eyes were riveted on Beckett, thoughts dueling in his head, when a limousine pulled up. "Visit from the mayor?" Castle asked.

"Oh, better," Beckett answered mysteriously. The driver opened the passenger door of the limo and a pair of high leather boots over well shaped legs emerged, followed by an equally well shaped body. Castle's jaw clenched. "That's Natalie Rhodes! What's she doing here?"

"She called and asked if she could shadow me. She wants to get a feel for the part of Nikki Heat by following around the person who inspired the character - me."

"And you said yes?" Castle asked incredulously. "Nikki is based on you. She's smart. She's classy. She's the thinking man's cop. You really want someone dogging your footsteps, someone who - beheads zombies?"

"Actually I kinda liked the way she beheaded zombies," Beckett rejoined. "She showed good upper body strength. Nikki is strong, right? She took down Rook."

Castle rubbed his jaw where his avatar had been kicked by his love interest, before they went on to more pleasing forms of physical contact. "Don't you think having someone following your every move will interfere with the investigation?" Castle persisted.

Invisible to the approaching Natalie Rhodes, Beckett slipped a hand under the back of Castle's jacket, cupping the well rounded warmth beneath. "So far I think that's worked out pretty well. Don't you Castle?"

Castle's head buzzed, imagining Beckett's touch in a more private venue. Silently, he hoped for the best.


	17. Chapter 17

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 17

"Detective Beckett?" Natalie Rhodes asked.

Beckett nodded.

"My god, you are exactly what I imagined Nikki Heat would look like," Natalie gushed.

"Yeah well, there was some very - descriptive language it the book," Beckett replied, looking at Castle. "This is Detective Esposito and this is Richard Castle."

"Oh hi!" Natalie greeted Esposito and Castle offhandedly, still concentrating on Beckett. "Actually I haven't read the book. I wanted to concentrate on the character in the screenplay." Castle made a choking sound. "Hey are you all right?"

"Yeah fine," Castle replied, "but maybe you didn't hear. I'm Richard Castle. I wrote Heat Wave - the book."

Natalie turned to Castle with new interest. "Oh, so you're the writer that follows Beckett around. Interesting. That interaction is very important to the development of Nikki's character. We'll have to get to know each other."

Beckett's eyes narrowed. "Yes well, if you're going to observe how I work, we need to get on with the case." She called to Ryan as he finished a conversation on his cell. "Got anything?"

"Just got off the phone with..." Ryan began to join the group but froze on spying Natalie.

"Hi," Natalie said, both accustomed to and amused by his reaction.

"Natalie, this is Detective Ryan," Beckett put in hurriedly, sensing Ryan's unease.

Ryan awkwardly shook Natalie's hand, a strangled "Hi," barely clearing his throat.

"Ryan, the call," Beckett prompted.

"Yeah," Ryan responded, swallowing and squaring his shoulders, "unis checked out Stacy Collins' office. It had been tossed."

"Okay, you guys get to that office, see what the killer was after," Beckett instructed. "Castle and I will go interview some party guests, see if we can shed some light on what this was all about."

"What's the matter with you, man?" Esposito asked as he and Ryan headed for their unit. "You make us all want to hurl talking about how much you adore Jenny and then you get all tongue tied over an actress?"

Ryan's pale Irish skin took on a ruddy glow. "She's on my freebie five list. You know, celebrities you're allowed to make an exception with if you ever get the chance. Jenny even knows."

"She may know, but I bet she doesn't like it," Esposito opined. "Anyway, you won't ever get a chance. Didn't you notice the way she was looking at Castle?"

"Well, I hate to think what Beckett might do to her if she tries to do anything besides look," Ryan speculated.

"You got that right," Esposito agreed.

* * *

><p>Natalie busily observed Beckett and Castle interviewing party guests, making notes on her cell phone.<p>

"You know what's so sad?" Amelia Weiss sniffled. "I don't think Stacy ever found a soul mate for herself."

"It's crazy," her husband Richard agreed. "Without her, we wouldn't even be together. How can she be dead?"

"Was anyone at the party acting strangely?" Beckett asked as Natalie diligently typed.

"What about after the party?" Castle continued. "Did you see Stacy leave?"

"Actually yeah," Richard recalled. "Someone picked her up?"

Beckett's ears perked. "Any idea who?"

"I didn't see," Amelia answered. "The windows were tinted."

"What..." Castle and Beckett began together.

"Kind of vehicle was it?" Castle continued. Natalie looked up curiously, her eyes darting to Castle and back to Beckett again.

"A sports car," Richard replied "It was a Boxster, a silver Boxster."

As Beckett was showing the Weisses out, Natalie approached Castle. "You based Rook on yourself, right?"

"Rook is character. There are a lot of differences, for one thing," Castle explained, wincing slightly, "I don't write romance novels." Castle drew himself up. "I'm a hard core detective saga guy."

Natalie grinned sexily. "I'm sure you are. Rook doesn't write romances in the movie anyway. But the passion between Nikki and Rook, that comes from you, doesn't it?"

Castle gulped. "They're fictional characters."

"But you're not," Natalie purred, "maybe..."

"Esposito and Ryan talked to Stacy's office manager and turned up a suspect," Beckett interrupted, returning. "We need to prepare for the interview now." Castle drew a sigh of relief and followed Beckett to her desk with Natalie behind him.

* * *

><p>Natalie eagerly observed Becket and Castle interviewing Stacy Collins' boyfriend Brad Williams. "Stacy and I were a couple," Brad declared, "and then two months ago she started to pull away. Next came some phone calls at odd hours from some guy, she wouldn't say who. The signs were all there." Brad shook his head despondently. "I guess I just didn't want to see them."<p>

"Just because she was getting phone calls doesn't mean she was having an affair," Beckett asserted.

"I followed her last week. Saw her meet the guy. A real low-life," Brad related. "When I confronted her, she denied everything. I called her a liar." Brad swiped a hand across his face. "Now she's dead."

"Prior to her death she was seen getting into your car," Beckett pointed out.

"After the party I offered her a ride," Brad confirmed. "I though we could talk."

"Where did you go?" Beckett questioned.

"Nowhere," Brad confessed, shamefully looking down at the table. "She was barely in the car when the guy called again. I started to get upset and she just got out."

"Then where'd you go?" Beckett persisted.

"I didn't go anywhere," Brad returned. "I noticed I was in front of the Nautilus Diner. I was cold and I didn't want to go home. So I went in. I was drinking coffee until after midnight."

* * *

><p>Natalie practiced mimicking Beckett's movements as she puzzled in front of the murder board with Castle and Esposito. "The hostess at the Nautilus confirms Brad's story," Esposito reported.<p>

"Ooh, I love their baklava!" Castle enthused. "You just bite into it and the honey oozes out the corners of your mou..." He stopped short as he saw Beckett looking at him while the tip of her tongue flicked over her lips. He coughed. "Yeah, but the salient point is Brad Williams just alibied out."

"Check Stacy's phone records," Beckett told Esposito. "Let's see if we can find the new boyfriend."

"Right," Esposito acknowledged, as Beckett's cell signaled a text.

"CSU just found a key hidden under a ceiling tile in Stacey's office," she reported.

"Mysterious lock box?" Castle asked.

Beckett shook her head. "They say there's no lock box in Stacey's office and her assistant, Julie Taylor, doesn't recognize it either. CSU is running it down."

"What are you thinking, Detective?" Natalie asked, while flicking her eyes between Castle and Beckett. "What's our next move?"

"I'm thinking," Beckett responded, "that I need a cup of coffee."

"Me too!" Natalie replied enthusiastically. "We're so in synch."

"Yeah," Beckett muttered under her breath, not missing Natalie's eying of Castle, "too in synch."

Castle was about to follow the women to the break room when Ryan flagged him down. "Listen Castle, I'm going to visit Jenny's parents tonight for ask for their blessing. I told her I'm playing darts with Esposito. I'm still working on the proposal but do you know a romantic restaurant?"

Castle pulled out his phone. "Hundreds. Does she like Italian?"

"Oh yeah," Ryan answered dreamily. "When she eats spaghetti she gets just this little bit of sauce..."

Castle held up a hand. "'Too much information." He showed Ryan a listing. "This is the perfect place. I'm sending it to you right now."

Castle tripped forward as Ryan slapped him on the back. "Thanks, buddy. This is going to be the best proposal ever!"

"Yeah," Castle agreed thoughtfully as Ryan pulled out his own phone to make arrangements, "good luck bro." Castle absently rubbed the spot on his finger where he had twice worn wedding bands, his voice a barely audible whisper. "Good luck."


	18. Chapter 18

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 18

After a stomach turning visit to a private eye named Jones, Beckett was back at the precinct. "Really, okay thanks," she said into the phone as Castle joined her. That was CSU, they got a hit on the key."

"What's it to?" Castle asked.

"Would you believe a jukebox?" Beckett replied.

"Hey! I used to know a guy who fixed those once," Castle recalled.

"Well, we'll have to see if this fixes the case," Beckett told him, looking around for Natalie, who was posing with her hand under her chin, at the murder board. "Do I really do that?" she asked Castle.

"You do, and it's adorable. Uh, you're adorable, not her," Castle stammered.

"It's okay Castle, I get it. Natalie!" Beckett called. "You want to go with us to Stacey's office?"

"You bet!" Natalie replied enthusiastically.

* * *

><p>"Okay, right there," Beckett instructed the CSU tech pulling the jukebox away from the wall. "Fitting the key into the lock, she revealed a high fashion carry-all.<p>

"Odd place to store luggage," Castle commented.

Beckett pulled out and unzipped the bag, letting loose a cascade of bills. "Whoa, that's a lot of cash!" Natalie exclaimed.

"It's gotta be at least a couple of hundred grand," Castle estimated.

"Well now we know what our killer was looking for," Beckett declared.

* * *

><p>Beckett puzzled over the bag she was examining at the precinct, while Castle and Natalie looked on. "So according to Stacy's assistant, the business barely had any money," she related, "let alone two hundred and fifty grand. As for this Burglin-Eckloff bag, it's definitely not Stacey's. Our vic was a Tumi girl."<p>

"Maybe the money belongs to the person who owns the bag," Natalie suggested.

"Well good luck finding that person. You can't pull prints off this kind of material," Beckett informed her.

"But you can just check the registry." Natalie protested.

"Registry?" Castle questioned.

"That's a six thousand dollar bag," Natalie explained. "All Burglin-Eckloff's are assigned a number when you buy it. You register at the company in case you lose it or it gets stolen."

Beckett snorted. "What kind of an idiot would would pay six grand for this bag?"

"I have a full set." Natalie informed her mildly. "There should be a number sewn in it somewhere."

* * *

><p>Much to Beckett's annoyance, Natalie had continued the practice of her mannerisms at the murder board as Ryan walked up. "So a guy from Munich with a Colonel Klink accent just emailed over the bag registration. The owner of the bag is Tonya Wellington."<p>

"You may just have cracked this one open," Beckett admitted grudgingly to Natalie.

"Seriously?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah," Beckett confirmed.

"It's addictive isn't it?" Castle asked. "That rush you get from solving a crime?"

"Yeah, I didn't get that from the script," Natalie responded.

"That's why you should read the book." Castle gloated.

"I definitely will," Natalie agreed.

"Yo, I knew that name was familiar, Esposito called, holding up a file at his desk. "Tonya Wellington and her husband were invited to Stacey's party."

"But we talked to all the guests. I don't remember that name," Castle puzzled.

Esposito nodded. "Yeah. They were invited but they declined."

"Let's see if they accept an invitation to my interrogation party," Beckett proposed, standing with her hands on her hips. Natalie copied her stance.

"So uncanny," Ryan commented.

"Spooky," Esposito added.

Castle noted the expression on Beckett's face as she turned to Natalie, and decided to keep his mouth firmly shut. "Are you doing me?" Beckett asked.

Natalie dropped her hands from her hips. "I'm just working on your posture," she explained. "You know it changes whether you have a suspect or not."

"Really?" Beckett queried skeptically.

"Like I said," Natalie insisted blithely. "Getting inside your head. When I'm done," she said glancing toward Castle," I'll do you better than you do you." Snapping her fingers, Natalie proudly strutted away.

Beckett turned to Ryan and Esposito. "Tonya Wellington, now!" she gritted through clenched teeth.

* * *

><p>Beckett stared severely at Tonya. "You were a client of Stacey Collins. Is that correct, Ms. Wellington?"<p>

Tonya looked to her lawyers before agreeing.

"But you didn't go to her party that night," Beckett continued, "why was that?"

Watching from observation, Natalie repeated her words. Muttering "Creepy," to himself, Castle moved as far from Natalie as he could to still be able to observe Beckett.

Beckett stood, fixing Tonya in a hard-eyed gaze. Ms. Wellington, we found a Burglin-Eckloff bag registered to you containing two hundred and fifty thousand dollars hidden in Stacey Collins' office. Can you explain where that came from?"

One of Tonya's attorneys intervened. "I'm afraid Ms. Wellington chooses not to answer that question.

Beckett pushed ahead, ignoring him, as Castle watched proudly. "Did you give Stacey that cash? What was it for? Ms. Wellington, who else knew that she had it?"

"Again, my client is asserting her right not to answer," the attorney interjected.

Beckett glared at him. "And I will remind your client that this is a murder investigation and I believe that the bag is at the heart of this case."

"Detective," the lawyer declared, "this meeting is over."

Castle drifted into the break room to restore Beckett's energy with a special latte. He was bringing it to Beckett's desk when Natalie extended a hand. "Thanks Castle!"

"Um, actually that was for Beckett. She worked hard in there. But I'd be happy to make you one," he offered. "How do you like it?"

Natalie smiled alluringly. "Just make it for me the way you'd make it for her. I'm in character."

Castle walked past her, making a point of handing Beckett her cup, before returning to the break room to produce another coffee. "Trying to take Kate's coffee!" he muttered to himself. "Just for that, only one pump of vanilla."

A messenger bearing a large box arrived just as Castle handed Natalie her cup. "Delivery for Natalie Rhodes?" he inquired.

Natalie smiled engagingly and waved. "Right here."

"What's that?" Castle asked.

Natalie batted her lashes. "Just something to help me get even more in character." Hips swaying, she sauntered toward the ladies' room. Natalie returned, still carrying the box and wearing a dark wig and a leather jacket almost identical to Beckett's.

Castle could see Beckett stiffen. "Hey," he whispered softly. "I don't care what color her hair is or what she wears, there's only one Kate Beckett. You know me. I'm not interested in knockoffs."

"So, what now, Detective?" Natalie asked.

"Ryan and Esposito are out doing some investigation," Beckett said. "I'm going to be catching up on paperwork until I hear from them."

"Paperwork, that's usually my cue to leave," Castle quipped.

"That's part of police work that probably isn't in your screenplay." Beckett told Natalie. "It's getting late. You should go."

Natalie watched Castle head for the elevator. "All right, Detective see you in the morning."

Natalie quickly followed Castle, making a show of fumbling the box she carried. "Let me help you with that," Castle offered, trying to get her out as quickly as possible.

They walked into the elevator together, but instead of facing front, Natalie turned to Castle. "Look, I'm Nikki and everything about you shouts Rook. If I'm really going to play her, I need to feel some of that passion, that heat."

Castle was trapped with his back against the wall. He dropped the box as Natalie leaned in and the door closed. Unseen by Castle, Beckett watched, horrified.

A/N There's another Nathan Fillion Easter egg. Think 1999.


	19. Chapter 19

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 19

Natalie thrust her fingers into Castle's hair as she pressed her lips to his. Desperately trying to duck away, Castle fumbled for the door open button. He squeezed through the smallest possible opening while hitting the close button behind him. Finger combing his hair, he rushed back into the bullpen.

He saw Beckett still staring toward the elevator aghast. "Kate, I didn't want to... I didn't mean to," Castle stammered.

Beckett glared. "Well Castle, you fixed the hair but you've still got the lipstick."

Castle frantically rubbed a hand over his mouth, as giggles suddenly burst from the mouth Beckett was trying to jam shut. "Kate?"

"Castle," Beckett exclaimed between fits of laughter. "If you could see your face!"

"Then you're not mad at me?" Castle inquired hesitantly.

"For being stupid enough to let Natalie tackle you in the elevator, maybe. But..." Beckett stopped as a fresh wave of merriment hit. "You look like a Chihuahua puppy who just met a great Dane. She is overpowering isn't she?"

Castle grimaced. "In more ways than one. Yuk! I think she's been eating peanut butter pretzels. I want to go home and brush my teeth."

"Tell you what," Beckett proposed. "You do that, I'll finish up my paperwork and see you there later."

"Sounds good to me!" Castle responded enthusiastically, leaning in for a kiss.

"Uh no," Beckett demurred, putting her hand over his mouth and pulling back.

"Peanut butter?" Castle asked.

Beckett nodded, wrinkling her nose. "Yeah."

* * *

><p>Castle listened for the sound of Beckett's key in the door of the loft and greeted her at the door. "I brushed three times," he whispered huskily, pulling her close.<p>

"Mmm," she judged, inhaling the minty freshness, "better."

"So what did you have in mind, Detective?" Castle asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Beckett responded, undoing a button on his shirt, "we could watch TV."

"Or I could make us a snack," Castle offered, pushing her top off her shoulder.

"You just brushed your teeth," Beckett reminded him, unfastening a second button.

"So I did," Castle agreed, lifting the strap of her bra with the tip of his finger. "but I can nibble on this." His teeth nipped lightly at the tender skin at the base of her neck.

"Richard, darling," Martha's voice floated down from the second floor of the loft."

Castle groaned in frustration. "Yes, Mother."

"I just wanted to tell you I'll be out for the evening and remind you that Alexis is sleeping over at Page's," Martha called down, "so don't bother making dinner for us."

The grin that spread over half of Castle's face was mirrored on Beckett's. Castle grabbed her hand to run for his bedroom. "Let's go before she changes her mind."

* * *

><p>Beckett was contentedly sitting at her desk drinking a large fresh coffee when Natalie stepped off the elevator. The actress again sported the brown wig and an outfit almost the exact duplicate of the one Beckett had worn the day before. She strode over to Beckett's desk. "Can I ask you something?"<p>

"Why stop now?" Beckett responded.

"Is Castle gay?"

Liquid spurted from Beckett's mouth. "No. Castle is definitely not gay."

"Then it isn't just Rook and Nikki, right? You and Castle are seriously together?" Natalie probed.

"That is something that we don't publicize, but yes. Our close friends and family know, but I don't like people poking into my private life," Beckett explained. "We weren't when he wrote Heat Wave but he... I almost... Anyway, we are now. Why?"

Natalie drew a deep breath. "Okay, I feel better. Because Castle is the only guy who not only turned me down but actively tried to escape. If he's with you, I understand. It actually gives me more dimension on your character."

Castle approached apprehensively, his own coffee cupped in his hands. "Don't be afraid, Castle," Natalie coaxed. "I'm not going to jump you. Your lady here carries a gun."

Relief whooshed from Castle's lips. "So she reminds me, on a regular basis."

Natalie turned back to Beckett, "So Detective, what's our next..."

A sobbing Jenny ran for the elevator. "I hate you, Kevin Ryan!"

Ryan ran after her, but the doors closed before he could get there. "Well that was dramatic!" Natalie commented.

"What happened?" Castle asked.

"Well I forgot my phone this morning so Jenny was bringing it to me and she asked Javi how it went when we played darts," Ryan explained.

"And you forgot to tell Esposito to cover for you while you talked to Jenny's parents," Castle finished.

"And then it got worse," Ryan continued, looking at Natalie. "She found out that I was working with you."

"Why is that a problem?" Natalie asked.

Ryan swallowed. "You- you're on my list, the celebrities I'm..."

Natalie laughed. "I know about those lists. Nice to know I'm on some people's," she said, glancing at Castle.

Beckett caught Natalie's gaze and ran her fingers over the holster of her gun.

"I think I better go try and call Jenny," Ryan said, wandering off distractedly.

"Hey Ryan!" Castle called after him. "Groveling, always good."

"While Ryan tries to pick up the pieces of his love life, let's get back to the case," Beckett suggested. "Where's Espo?"

"Yo!" The detective called across the bullpen. "No update on what the two hundred fifty K was for, but I think we found that bad client of Stacey's that Duke Jones told us about when we interviewed him."

Beckett gave an involuntary shudder as she pictured the slimy private detective Stacey Collins had employed.

"It was Bill Wellington," Esposito continued. "Turns out Tonya is wife number three. Bill divorced the other two a couple of months before their pre-nups ran out. Left them without a dime. Turns out he was trying to do the same to Tonya. He filed for divorce a couple of months ago."

"So that's why Stacey's business was so broke," Beckett concluded. "She became more selective about her clients. She knew Tonya would be left with nothing."

"Not exactly nothing," Esposito corrected. "Tonya's pre-nup had an infidelity clause. Bill violated it. Bill owes Tonya a hundred million bucks for cheating." He held up photographs. "Boudoir shots to prove it. Recognize her?"

"Yeah, the woman Jones said was his assistant Chloe," Beckett answered. "Where'd you get those?"

"Her divorce file," Esposito answered proudly. "Juicy huh?"

"Salacious," Castle agreed. "Oh, I see what happened here. This is even more juicy than the photos."

"Okay Castle, what's your story?" Beckett queried, as Castle bounced excitedly.

"Stacey Collins realized that the wives were being ripped off by cheating husbands. That's what she needed Duke Jones for. He wasn't just investigating, he was setting the husbands up. It was a honey trapping operation. That's what the money from Tonya was for, to pay for trapping Bill. But how did Duke choose the honey?" Castle asked, pointing to the picture.

Ryan returned to the bullpen, still looking distressed. "I can tell you that. We showed the picture to some of the guys at vice. Her name's not Chloe, it's Greta Morgan. She's a professional, works out of several hotels. She's also been seen there with..."

"Duke Jones?" Castle guessed.

Ryan touched his finger to his nose.

"Okay Esposito, you and Ryan see if you can find Greta Morgan," Beckett instructed. "Castle and I will track down Bill Worthington. Let's see how he felt about losing a hundred million dollars."

Castle turned proudly to Natalie. "This is where you get the real material for your character. Beckett grilling a cheating murderer? The stuff of which legends and best sellers are made."

A/N For those of you who don't know the story, Laura Prepon, who played Natalie, loves peanut butter pretzels. She had been eating them when she was called to do the kissing scene with Nathan and didn't have time to brush her teeth. Nathan ended up buying a big box store canister of the pretzels and giving them to Laura, telling her they were for the next man who had to kiss her.


	20. Chapter 20

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 20

Natalie watched from observation as Bill Wellington stared horrified at a photograph of the murder scene. "You think I did this to Stacey Collins? What was my motive?"

"What she did to your marriage," Beckett replied as if pointing out the obvious.

"It's not like she put a gun to my head and said 'marry the beast,'" Bill protested.

"Well, that's very big of you, Mr. Wellington," Beckett returned sarcastically, showing him a photograph of Chloe, "but we also know you were having an affair with this woman."

"What has my personal business got to do with Stacey Collins' murder?" Worthington puzzled.

"I'll be asking the questions, Mr. Worthington," Beckett retorted. "How did you meet Chloe?"

"She had a suite at the Beaumont. I met her in the bar. She liked my watch. I liked her eyes. It used to be a guy could get a little on the side without worrying about some moron with a camera ruining his life," Bill complained.

"Your respect for marital fidelity is touching," Castle commented.

"Expensive affair," Beckett asserted. "I understand it cost you a hundred million dollars. You must have been pretty angry when you discovered Stacey Collins had you set up."

The veins bulged in Worthington's neck. "That little bitch did what? Are you telling me that piece of tail worked for Stacey and Stacey and my wife arranged all this?"

"People have killed for a lot less than a hundred million bucks," Castle pointed out.

"Listen," Worthington insisted, "I didn't kill Stacey. If I'd known what happened, both she and Tonya would be dead."

"Where were you Monday night, Mr Worthington?" Beckett pushed.

Worthington sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Hong Kong."

* * *

><p>Beckett stood scowling at the murder board. "Worthington's alibi checks out. His plane from Hong Kong touched down yesterday afternoon. How about Chloe?"<p>

Ryan and I checked out Duke Jones' office, it's been cleaned out," Esposito reported. "Not even a paper clip."

"Worthington said Chloe had a suite at the Beaumont," Castle recalled.

"Okay, you and Ryan check out the Beaumont," Beckett instructed Esposoto, "we'll check Stacey's files to see if there are references to any more cheating couples."

Ryan sighed. "You marry the love of your life and the next thing you know, they're cheating on you."

"Ryan," Beckett commanded tersely.

"Right," Ryan agreed. "Beaumont Hotel."

"What if Wellington hired someone?" Natalie piped up. "Shouldn't we check his financials?"

Beckett looked at her with annoyance. "This kind of murder looks like a crime of passion. That's not usually something people hire a hit man for. But even if he did, the guy is worth hundreds of millions. He could bury a hit so deep it would take a squad of forensic accountants to find it. Let's hope he didn't hire someone."

After poring over the files with Castle, Beckett came out to the bullpen wearily to meet Ryan and Esposito. "There were three divorced couples since Stacey started honey trapping," she reported."Two of the husbands have solid alibis and the third divorce had nothing to do with cheating. Anything on Greta Morgan?"

"Nothing at the Beaumont," Esposito offered. "But we checked some of her other haunts that vice gave us. We found something pretty interesting at the Meritage."

"What?" Beckett asked.

"Esposito inclined his head toward two uniformed officers escorting a cuffed woman. "Greta Morgan."

* * *

><p>Beckett slammed her leather folder down on her desk. "Hey Kate, what's up?" Castle asked.<p>

"Castle, did you see her? She thinks she's me!" Beckett complained bitterly. "She's trying to look like me and stand like me, then she tried to take over the questioning of Greta Morgan. First she tries to take my coffee, then she tries to sleep with you, now it feels like she wants to suck away my soul."

"You could ask her to leave," Castle suggested. "She's only here on your sufferance, and that's probably an exact description."

Beckett shook her head. "No, I told her she could stay through the end of the case. I'm not going to go back on my word."

Castle gently massaged her shoulders. "That isn't all, is it?"

"No," Beckett admitted. "You heard Greta. The two guys she fingered as having slept with her, Donner and Weiss, I already checked their alibis, but I might have missed something. I have Ryan rechecking."

"And you hate to think something got by you, especially with Natalie watching," Castle offered.

Beckett nodded. "I think you know me too well."

Castle smiled and shook his head. "I've spent two years unraveling the mystery that's Kate Beckett, and I feel like I'm just starting." Beckett reached out to squeeze his hand.

"Hey," Ryan called, "got something. Scott Donner's wife confirmed that they went straight home from the party, but then Scott went out to meet his cousin Benjamin for a drink - except Benjamin doesn't remember having that drink."

Castle touched Beckett's arm. "Looks like you might be saying goodbye to Natalie soon after all."

"Yeah," Beckett smiled. "She's in the break room. I'll get her."

* * *

><p>"Mr. Donner," Beckett said, entering his office with Castle, Esposito, Ryan, and Natalie, "we're here to talk to you about Stacey Collins' murder."<p>

"I don't understand," Donner protested, "I told you everything I know at the station."

"Yes, but you didn't tell us where you were when she was murdered," Beckett rejoined.

"We know you weren't with your wife," Castle added.

"Or your cousin having a drink," Natalie inserted, unbidden.

"You lied about that," Beckett continued. "So where were you?"

"I-I," Donner stammered.

"What did you stand to lose? Thirty, forty million after the divorce? You confronted Stacey," Beckett accused, "and when she refused, you killed her."

"No, no, no!" Donner denied helplessly.

"Mr Donner," Beckett announced, "You're under arrest for the murder of Sta..."

Donner pulled a gun from a drawer and held it to his head. "You stay back! All of you!"

"Scott, you don't need to do this," Beckett soothed softly. "Give me the gun."

"No!" Donner exclaimed. "I didn't mean to kill her. I just wanted the pictures. She tried to break away. I didn't even see the gate there, and those spikes."

"Okay, fine," Beckett agreed, keeping her voice low and reassuring, "it was just an accident."

"What does it matter?" Scott moaned. "It's over for me."

"Scott just give me that gun and I assure you you'll get a fair trial." Beckett coaxed.

"You think I'm foolin' around here Detective?" Scott shouted.

Suddenly Natalie intervened, repeating the words from her audition tape. "No, I think you feel trapped and you're serious as hell, but right now I need you to think about the people who love you, and they need you to put down that gun."

Beckett was astonished when Donner lowered his gun. She moved in to take it and cuffed him.

"Mmm," Castle pondered, "I guess that dialogue wasn't so hackey after all."

* * *

><p>Castle sat in his chair next to Beckett's desk as she wrote up her notes for her final report. "Well Natalie's gone and the case is wrapped up," he noted. "Feel better?"<p>

Beckett stretched in her chair, pushing her shoulders back and stretching her blouse across her chest in a way that Castle found too inviting. "Yeah and... look who's here!"

Jenny came into the bullpen as everyone pretended not to watch. Ryan caught her in a breathless hug."Jenny, I'm so glad to see you!"

"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry I made a scene," Jenny apologized.

"Jenny, it's okay," Ryan assured her.

"No. Kevin you're the best thing that ever happened to me. I want you to know that I love you and I trust you." Tears sparkled on her lashes. "I'm sorry."

"Jenny, wait right here!" Ryan told her, running to a take a box from a locked drawer in his desk. Kevin took Jenny's hands and pressed them between his own. "Jenny, I wasn't playing darts with Javi. I went to see your parents. I had a very important question for them. So," he continued getting down on one knee and producing the engagement ring he'd shown Castle, "Jennifer Scout Duffy O'Malley will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"

Jenny sniffed and swiped at her eyes. "Oh my God! Y-yes, yes!"

Castle gazed wistfully at Ryan and Jenny before beginning to applaud, as all the cops in the bullpen moved toward Ryan to offer their congratulations. Castle shook Ryan's hand and clapped him on the back before slowly backing away as the tight cluster of cops began talking about going out for celebratory drinks.

Beckett looked at him, confused. "Castle, don't you want to join the celebration? You're usually the first person to offer a toast."

"Beckett, you go and I'll join you later," Castle urged. "I suspect drinks will be hoisted for quite a while and there's something, a couple of things, I need to do."

"Okay," Beckett agreed and watched with a puzzled gaze as Castle headed for the elevator.


	21. Chapter 21

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 21

Castle descended into the cool dimness of the subway. He needed time to get his thoughts together and a cab would get him where he wanted to go too quickly. The train was crowded and he swayed at his handhold as it hurtled through the tunnels. It took a transfer to reach his uptown destination, but his mind was still jumbled as he took the elevator upward to his floor. The middle aged receptionist at the front desk smiled questioningly at the handsome author. "I'm Richard Castle. I'm sorry, I don't have an appointment but I was wondering if I might get a few minutes with James Beckett."

"Richard Castle the author?" the woman inquired. "Johanna used to talk about your books all the time," she gushed at Castle's affirmative nod. "Then Kate..., I'll see if Jim has a moment."

Jim Beckett greeted Castle at the door of his private office. "Rick, it's great to meet you finally. I've heard a lot about you from Katie, especially when she came to see me after you were shot. She was pretty frantic."

"Wow, I never knew that happened," Castle confessed. "She seemed to take the whole thing in stride."

"Well you know our Katie," Jim shared, "always wants to put up a tough front."

Castle nodded in agreement. "I do."

"So what brings you here today, Rick?" Jim queried. "I would assume you have your own attorneys."

"This isn't a matter for a lawyer, or at least I hope not," Castle responded. "The truth is, sir, I want to marry your daughter."

"And you're asking for my blessing?" Jim wondered. "Katie's a big girl. I don't know that she'd feel it would be necessary to have my approval or anyone's."

"You're right about that, sir. Actually I was more looking for advice," Castle confided.

"First piece of advice, call me Jim," the senior Beckett urged. "Sir makes me feel like an old man, but what else do you need to know?"

"Well I tend to go big," Castle explained. "I like grand gestures, sharing with the whole world. But Kate, she's more closed in. I'm not sure how to approach this. I'm not even sure what kind of a ring to get for her. My tendency is to go big there too, but I don't want to make her uncomfortable around the other cops."

"I think you understand her better than you think you do, Rick," Jim counseled, "but let me give you some history. The walls Katie has around herself were not always there. When she was younger she was as outgoing a person as you would hope to meet. She did some pretty wild things. After Johanna was taken from us, she retreated, though not as much as I did. I crawled into a bottle to numb the pain. She just built herself a place to hide. I think she's been coming out of hiding with you, but she's not all the way out yet."

"So what do I do?" Castle asked.

"You respect her privacy," Jim advised. "When you ask her, make it just the two of you. Don't make her cope with her feelings in public. The ring - all she needs to know is that you love her. That would be my only question too. Do you love my daughter?"

"That," Castle declared, "is the one thing I am sure about."

Jim put a hand on his shoulder. "Then good luck son."

Castle sat on a bench in a pocket park near the Beckett law office and pulled out his phone. "Shmulie, Rick Castle."

"My friend," came the voice on the other end, "what kind of a dazzling piece do you need to charm a lady today?"

"I need an engagement ring," Rick explained.

"Taking the plunge again?" Shmulie asked. "From how many thousand feet do you want this one to be visible?"

"Shmulie, I've met a woman who I don't think needs or even wants that. Can you show me some that are only a couple of carats, but the stone has to be absolutely perfect?" Castle asked.

"Sure sure," the jeweler agreed. "You want me to bring a selection to your loft?"

"No," Castle told him "I'll come to you. About half an hour?"

"I'll have them ready," Shmulie agreed.

When Castle walked into the Old Haunt, the celebration was still in full swing. One of the officers had pulled out a penny whistle and Jenny was dancing a jig while Ryan smiled and clapped. Beckett was at the bar with Esposito, slowly nursing a beer. She smiled when she saw Castle. "You made it!"

"Hey, I told you I would," he smiled back. "Excuse me Espo, I'd like to talk to Kate downstairs." Esposito nodded as Beckett followed Castle to the hidden staircase.

"Castle, what's all this about?" Beckett asked when they reached the basement office.

"Kate, I was watching Natalie try to be you, but there's only one you, and that's the woman I love. Then when Ryan - I realized - I'm not doing this very well."

"Castle, just say what's on your mind," Beckett urged.

Castle pulled the ring box from his pocket and knelt. "Katherine Houghton Beckett, will you marry me?"

Beckett gazed wide-eyed at the ring nestled against the midnight blue velvet. "Castle – I,"

"You don't like it!" Castle interjected. "I should have gotten a bigger one!"

Beckett cupped his cheek in her hand. "No, Castle. It's beautiful. It's perfect. It's just that this is Ryan's day and I don't want to..."

Breath whooshed out of Castle's lungs. "Kate," he insisted, "I'm not suggesting stealing Ryan's glory. You don't have to wear the ring upstairs. You can put it in your pocket and wear it when you're ready. Just tell me you'll marry me."

Kate took the ring from Castle's hand. "Richard Edgar Alexander Rodgers Castle I will marry you and I can do better than putting this in my pocket." Kate pulled out the chain which bore her mothers ring. "Until we share this with the world, it will be right here, next to the other most precious thing I have."

Beckett threaded the ring on the chain, tucking it in her blouse between her breasts. Rising on her toes, she wrapped her arms around Castle's neck. "Richard Castle, I love you."

The noise of the party upstairs and all thought retreated to nothingness as their lips met.


	22. Chapter 22

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 22

Castle awoke with Beckett in his arms. "Good morning wife to be." He shifted in the smaller bed. "With Mother and Alexis in the loft, I'm glad we could come here last night."

"Mmmm," Beckett stretched lithely as her phone rang.

"Let it ring," Castle pleaded. "You're not even on call."

"Castle, no one calls this time of the morning unless it's important," Beckett countered. She kissed her fingertip and touched it to her lips. "I'll be right back."

As Beckett returned stiffly to the bedroom, Castle could see that shades of color had vanished from her face. "Kate, what's wrong?"

"Castle, that was Raglan."

"The detective who investigated your mother's murder?"

Beckett nodded slowly. "He says he has something he needs to tell me about my mother's case. He wants to meet at a coffee shop and he said not to bring any cops."

"Shouldn't that be when you call Montgomery to surround the place with cops?" Castle asked.

Kate shook her head. "Castle I can't take the chance. If he really has information, I need it."

Castle reached up to stroke her cheek. "I know you do. Well I'm not a cop."

Beckett gave him a wry smile. "That's for sure, but you are my partner."

The coffee shop was a throwback, with vinyl upholstered booths and heavy stoneware cups. Raglan sat in a booth at the front window, his hands wrapped around his cup as he breathed the steam. Castle and Beckett slid in across from him. "Hey lady, I said no cops," Raglan protested, staring at Castle.

"He's not a cop," Beckett returned.

"Then who is he?" Raglan asked.

Beckett squeezed Castle's hand under the table. "Someone I trust."

Mollified, Raglan began to speak. "You know everyone serves coffee in paper cups, these days. But there's something about the feel of warm ceramic against your hands. It's funny the things you notice. I just got the long face from the doc. Lymphoma, I've got six months."

Beckett's impatience dueled with her sympathy. "Sorry to hear that. You said you had something to tell me about my mother's case."

"Yeah," Raglan agreed. "but first you need some background. Nineteen years ago we started something that started the dominoes falling." A shot shattered the glass of the window. Raglan was on the floor, but Castle stared in horror at a splash of red on Beckett's sweater.

"Everyone down!" Beckett shouted.

"You're hit!" Castle exclaimed.

"Castle, it's not my blood." Beckett comforted, while pulling out her cell. "Take care of Raglan."

Castle grabbed a towel off a tray a waitress had left on a table as she dived for cover, and pressed it to the wound on Raglan's chest that no longer spurted blood. Castle felt Raglan's neck for any sign of a pulse, as Beckett reported the gunshot. "Castle?" she questioned, gazing at the body on the floor. Castle shook his head, and Beckett grimly amended her report to a homicide.

"Beckett, what the hell were you doing coming out here without backup?" Montgomery demanded, standing in front of the coffee shop surrounded by NYPD units.

Ryan and Esposito sidled up behind Beckett. "Uh, we were backing her up sir," Ryan lied.

"Yeah," Esposito added, "we were just down the block."

"Uh huh, right," Montgomery muttered, not fooled. "Beckett, what am I going to do with you?"

"Sir, you're going to let me investigate this shooting," Beckett insisted.

Montgomery stomped the sidewalk. "Damn! Well at least you brought Castle with you. Now listen, I know you. If I tell you no, you're just going to do it anyway, but Kate, you investigate Raglan's shooting, not your mother's case. I know you, you're just going to go running with scissors and I can't let you do that. Just this shooting, you hear me?"

"Yes sir," Beckett agreed grudgingly. Beckett returned to the inside of the coffee shop to find Castle huddling in a booth with his jacket drawn tightly around him. She slid in beside him. "Castle are you all right?"

He turned dully to look at her. "Yeah, I think I got all the blood off my hands."

She laid a hand over his. "That's not what I meant."

"When I saw the blood on your sweater, I thought you'd been shot. And then..." Castle's hand moved unconsciously to his own chest.

"You flashed back to when Ryan shot you," Beckett filled in.

Castle nodded.

Beckett took his hand again. "Look, I need to go to the precinct and work on this. I should drop you at the loft."

"Castle turned to her, steel flashing from the deep blue of his eyes. "Not a chance!"

* * *

><p>Beckett filled in the murder board as Castle sat on a nearby desk, looking on. "Uniforms canvassed the building across the street where the trajectory indicated the shot originated. Nobody saw anything."<p>

"Raglan had no family," Esposito reported.

"We talked to the neighbors," Ryan continued. "Raglan only had one visitor. They identified him as the guy in this picture we took from Raglan's apartment, his old partner McCallister."

"Get him in here!" Beckett instructed.

"Castle how are you doing?" Beckett asked after Ryan and Esposito took off.

Castle dropped the hand which he realized had been unconsciously massaging his scars through his shirt. "Hey! I'm here. I'm with you through this. Okay?"

"Okay Castle," Beckett agreed, "but it works both ways. I'm with you too."

Castle smiled up at her. "You really are remarkable."

Sitting in a chair in the interrogation lounge, McCallister looked as if he'd started augmenting his coffee early in the day. "Yeah, I just talked to John yesterday. He told me he was dying. This job, it takes everything. It took his wife. Now it even took what time he had left."

"Detective McCallister," Beckett explained gently, "Detective Raglan was talking about something that happened nineteen years ago. Do you have any idea what that might be?"

"Yeah," McCallister recalled. "Back then Raglan liked the ponies, but they didn't like him. He was broke all the time, but then he started making runs across the city into the territory of a drug dealer named Vulcan Simmons."

"And then he wasn't broke anymore?" Castle put in.

"And then he wasn't broke anymore," McCallister repeated. "If I were you, I'd look at Vulcan Simmons."

Castle was in his familiar spot next to Beckett's desk when Ryan arrived with a file. "I called my buddies in narcotics, but they haven't heard anything from Simmons in a while. This is his record. No one's picked him up in years."

"So he's out of the game?" Castle asked.

"Or he's just gone deeper, let lower levels do his dirty work," Ryan suggested. "Back in the day, he ran a big operation in Washington Heights."

Beckett's eyes widened. "Did you say Washington Heights? My mother and some of her colleagues started a campaign there, 'Clean Up Our Neighborhood,'"

"That would certainly have been a motive to kill your mother, and maybe to take out Raglan if Simmons thought he was going to spill about it," Castle offered.

Beckett's jaw clenched. "Find the bastard! Bring him in!"

"You all right?" Castle asked Beckett after Ryan left them.

"Castle," Beckett told him resolutely, "if Vulcan Simmons is behind my mother's murder, I'm better than all right. I'm going to nail him!"


	23. Chapter 23

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 23

"They've painted since the last time I was here," The deep voiced Vulcan Simmons commented with a crocodilian smile. He stared appreciatively at Beckett. "You would have been about sixteen then, wrestling some pimply kid in the back of his daddy's wagon wondering if you were going to give it to him or not."

Castle's fists clenched as his body lifted on its own volition from his chair. "That's enough!"

Simmons' smile stretched to a grin. "Aw, he's sweet on you, makes him brave."

Beckett briefly touched Castle's arm as he sank back in his chair. She skewered Vulcan Simmons with her glare. "What was your association with Detective John Raglan?"

"Raglan, Raglan, Raglan," Simmons teased. "Thirsty cop? Couldn't pick a winner to save his life? Well Detective, our association, as you put it, ended many moons ago."

"There is no statute of limitations on murder, Mr. Simmons," Beckett ground out.

Simmons laughed. "And here begins the initial confrontation. During this phase of the interrogation the interrogator may invade the suspect's space in order to increase his discomfort." He shifted his attention to Castle. "Do you want to invade my personal space?"

"Look at me!" Beckett commanded. "Twelve years ago Johanna Beckett led a Take Back the Neighborhood campaign in Washington Heights."

"And that must have pissed you off," Castle added.

Simmons' chuckle rumbled in his chest. "And this would be theme development, presenting the crime through the eyes of the suspect."

Ice chips formed in Beckett's eyes. "Johanna Beckett was murdered along with two of her colleagues. They were professional hits carried out on your orders and you had your pet homicide detective Raglan bury them." Beckett shoved a crime scene picture of her mother in front of Simmons' eyes. "Look at her! Tell me you don't remember her."

"You know Detective," Simmons taunted, "I think I do remember her. Bled out in the alley like the trash she was."

Color infused Beckett's face. "Mr. Simmons you better watch..."

Simmons smirked. "Rich bitch from uptown on safari in the Heights. Someone should have warned her not to feed or tease the animals."

Rage rose in Beckett's throat as Simmons gloried in it. "You!"

"If she had," Simmons continued, "she might not have gotten eaten. From what I hear though, she was pretty tasty."

Beckett's anger broke free as she slammed Simmons into the mirror, shattering it, even as Castle tried to restrain her. "Whoa Beckett!"

Beckett broke free of Castle's grasp as Ryan and Esposito rushed into the room. "Remember your old life, Simmons, because I am going to take it all away."

"Stand down!" Esposito shouted.

"Beckett that's enough," Ryan urged.

"Stand down." Esposito repeated as Ryan grabbed a protesting Beckett and pushed her out of the room.

Castle strode the short distance to stand toe to toe with Simmons, who laughed in his face. "Oh you want some too?"

Esposito put a hand on Castle's shoulder. "Let it go, bro."

Castle could hear Montgomery's argument with Beckett rattling through the walls of the captain's office. "Go home, Detective, now!" Montgomery ordered.

Beckett rushed out the door of the office with Castle following closely behind. "Kate!" Not bothering to wait for the elevator, Beckett charged down the stairs with Castle running after her. With longer legs, Castle caught her at the bottom of the stairs, wrapping his arms around her and stroking her hair. "Kate, you've got to calm down and think this through."

"How, Castle?" Beckett exclaimed. "Montgomery just told me I was acting like a rookie and threw me off the case."

"Kate, you've been working your mother's murder ever since you've been on the force. I've put more than a little work into it too," Castle reminded her. "We have other resources."

Beckett drew a calming breath. "You're right Castle, we do."

Montgomery hailed Ryan and Esposito in the bullpen. "As of now, you two are running this investigation.

Ryan and Esposito looked at each other. "Sir, we respectfully decline the assignment," Ryan responded.

Montgomery angrily waved his shield in their faces. "What does it say on my badge?"

"Captain," Esposito replied.

"Now read the fine print," Montgomery urged. "It says get your asses out there and solve Raglan's murder before I bust you down to traffic. You want to help Beckett? Solve the damn case."

"Yes sir," Ryan and Esposito replied, hurrying away as quickly as they could.

* * *

><p>"You want to go to the loft?" Castle asked Beckett. "I have all my files on your mother's case on my computer there."<p>

Beckett shook her head. "No, there's something at my place I need to show you."

Beckett left her unit at the precinct and Castle hailed a cab for the short trip to Beckett's apartment. Despite Castle's arm around her shoulders, Beckett was too restless to settle back, spending the ride on the edge of her seat. As Castle paid off the taxi while Beckett headed upstairs, he noticed a flower vendor on the corner. "Can't hurt," he thought to himself, hurriedly purchasing a bouquet. The apartment door had latched behind Beckett, and Castle used a key she had given him to open it again. Beckett had opened the shutters on a window, revealing a makeshift murder board Castle had not previously seen. Castle walked into her field of vision, extending the flowers. "I thought, I just thought you might want..."

Moisture glistened in Beckett's eyes. "Castle thank you, that's sweet." She put the flowers in a vase as Castle regarded to notes she'd posted on the window.

"When did you start this?" Castle asked.

Beckett chewed on her lip. "Last summer when..."

"When I went to the Hamptons with Gina," Castle finished. He came up behind her in the kitchen, circling her waist with his arms and lightly kissing her neck. "I am so sorry. I mean, if I had known... I should have been here for you."

Beckett turned in his arms to frame his face in her hands. "You're here now. So, can we get to work?"

"You must have personal papers from your mother, pictures that we can look through?" Castle asked.

"Castle, I've been through that stuff a hundred times," Beckett protested.

"Yeah, but we know more now," Castle insisted. "Let's look again, together."

"Fine," Beckett agreed, hauling boxes out of the closet. A loud cracking sound echoed through the apartment. "Great!" Beckett grumbled. "bet someone's pipes broke again. We may have to take this stuff to the loft Castle, they'll probably shut off the water. That's what they did last... Castle?"

Castle sat stiffly on the couch, his skin pale and his fists clenched. Beckett put her boxes on the floor and bent over him, brushing the hair from his face. "Babe, are you all right?"

Castle shook himself and leaned into the warm touch of Beckett's hand. "Yeah, fine. I was just startled. C'mon, let's take that stuff to the loft. "If there's no water there'll be no coffee and neither one of us will be capable of cogent thought."

Lines formed between Beckett's brows as she stared into his eyes. "Okay, I think I have a luggage cart here somewhere. We can load it up."

Castle stroked her cheek before rising slowly from the couch. "Okay, good idea." He forced a smile. "It will save a tip for the doorman. Let's go."


	24. Chapter 24

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 24

Ryan and Esposito stared at the computer monitor. "Man," Esposito complained, "we're looking for someone who has a disassembled rifle in a briefcase, but they all have briefcases."

"Yeah, I know," Ryan conceded, "but we have to get this one, partner. Beckett..."

"Yeah, I know bro," Esposito agreed."

Ryan pointed at the screen. "Hey Javi, look at that!" Ryan briefly reversed the feed and ran it forward again. "Did you see, he didn't just bump into her. He took her key card. He needed elevator access."

Esposito's face scrunched as he shook his head. "But how will that help us find the guy? He didn't touch any printable surfaces."

"He touched her," Ryan insisted. "We print dead bodies, why not a live one? Maybe we'll get lucky. It's Saturday. She might've slept in and not showered yet."

"How do we find her?" Esposito queried.

"Look at the time stamp," Ryan suggested. "We find who's card was swiped within a couple of minutes."

"It's a long shot," Esposito pointed out.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, but it's all we've got."

* * *

><p>Castle grinned over pictures of a young Kate Beckett pulling on ice skates next to a Christmas tree, and searched for one of her on ice. "Oh, I don't get to see you in action?" he asked plaintively.<p>

"Believe me Castle, it wasn't pretty," Beckett assured him.

"Well now I have to see it," Castle teased, searching through negatives. "Hmm."

"What, Castle?" Beckett questioned.

"There are twenty-four exposures on this roll but only twenty pictures." He stared at the tiny squares. "These look like an alley."

Beckett took the film from him, looking at the code. "This was taken a week before my mother was killed. Why would my mother take pictures of an alley?"

"Let's find out," Castle offered. Scanning the negatives and using an app to reverse the colors, Castle projected the images on his large screen.

Beckett paled. "That's the alley where my mother was stabbed. I always thought it had to do with a case she was working on, but I never connected it with that alley. What happened there?" Castle split the screen to bring up pages of another file. "Castle, those are from my mother's original case file. Where did you get them?"

"I got a guy," Castle told her, remembering Esposito's threat of serious hurt if he ever revealed his source. "Anyway, we have the exact location of the alley. We can check its history. I have a Lexis Nexis subscription."

Castle's fingers flew over the keys of his laptop. "That alley is behind a club that used to be a mob hangout. Look, there was a murder there nineteen years ago, an FBI undercover agent named Bob Armen was shot. A mob enforcer named Joseph Pulgatti was convicted of the shooting."

"You up for a field trip to Rikers?" Beckett asked.

"Absolutely," Castle assured her.

* * *

><p>Pulgatti's eyes widened at the sight of Beckett. "Yeah, I remember the shooting in that alley. I've had nineteen years to think about it," he told Beckett and Castle, "but I didn't do it. Bobby and I were friends, or at least I thought we were. I didn't know he was FBI. We were just out in the alley having a smoke and discussing a problem. Back then there was a group of guys kidnapping people from all the families, beating them up and shaking them down for what they called bail. We called it ransom. It got so bad the families called a truce to try to deal with it. While we were out there, three guys in ski masks come up, try to grab Bobby. The whole thing went sideways and Bobby got shot. These cops, Raglan and McCallister show up to bust me for the murder. Here's a question for you. Bobby and I were alone in that alley except for the kidnappers. How did Raglan and McCallister know I was there?"<p>

"You're saying that Raglan and McCallister were the kidnappers?" Castle asked.

"Along with the third guy, yeah," Pulgatti replied. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Bobby was killed by cops, maybe Raglan or McCallister, maybe the other guy."

"Then why did you confess?" Castle asked.

"Look, they gave the D.A. all kinds of trumped up evidence against me and I don't like needles. At least that way I got to stay alive."

"There was an attorney back then, Johanna Beckett, are you familiar with her?" Beckett asked.

Pulgatti stared at Beckett as he had when she and Castle entered the room. "You know you look just like her? When you first walked in, I thought I was seeing a ghost. I wrote to every attorney I could find after they put me away. She was the only one who wrote back. She didn't care who I was..."

"She was only interested in the truth," Beckett finished.

"That was her," Pulgatti agreed. "I stopped hearing from her and then the word was she'd been hit. I always thought it was those cops looking to cover up what she'd been doing. Your mother?"

Beckett nodded silently.

"I'm sorry," Pulgatti said, "she was a good woman."

* * *

><p>"Sir," Ryan told Montgomery, "we've got an ID on our shooter. He goes by the name of Hal Lockwood, but the guy's a ghost. He didn't exist until three years ago, probably a phony identity."<p>

"Got an address?" Montgomery asked.

"Yes sir," Esposito confirmed.

"Then go get him," Montgomery ordered, "and listen, if you get a shot, you take it. We don't need some lawyer getting a cop killer off."

Ryan hesitated but Esposito jumped in with his response. "Hear you loud and clear, Captain."

"What are you doing here?" Montgomery asked as Beckett and Castle returned to the precinct.

"Sir, we have some information that might be relevant to Raglan's shooting," Beckett explained.

"Yeah, well we'll discuss the meaning of a direct order later," Montgomery told her gruffly, "but for now just tell me what you found."

Sitting uncomfortably in Montgomery's office, Beckett and Castle shared what they had heard from Pulgatti. They were almost finished when Montgomery's phone buzzed. Montgomery looked grim as he listened. "That was Ryan. He and Esposito found where our shooter has been staying, but he wasn't there. Beckett, they found some surveillance shots of you and some with you and Castle. You're both in danger until we get this guy. I'm going to have to put teams on both of you."

"Sir," Beckett began hesitantly, "I think only one team for the both of us. Castle and I are..."

"You don't think I know you two are engaged?" Montgomery asked incredulously. "What? You may not be wearing the ring but do you think I'm deaf and blind? I hear the buzz around here. I know you two are practically living together. Kate, pick a spot to hunker down, your place or Castle's loft and stay there. I'll put the team on the two of you."

"Sir I can't," Beckett protested. "I have to be involved."

"Fine," Montgomery conceded. "Esposito and Ryan are taking point on this. That's not negotiable, but I'll make sure they keep you in the loop."

"Thank you sir," Beckett agreed. Beckett and Castle looked at each other as Castle mimed drinking coffee. "Castle, what about Martha and Alexis?"

"Alexis is on a school trip and Mother is on an actor's retreat," Castle explained. "They're out of the line of fire."

"Sir," Beckett announced, "We'll be at the loft."


	25. Chapter 25

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 25

As he and Beckett stood staring at the large screen in his office, Castle cleared his throat. "Kate, as long as Montgomery brought it up, there's something we need to talk about. I know you think wearing your ring at the precinct is unprofessional, and you like to keep your private life private, so we've only told family and a few friends we're engaged. But it's obvious everyone knows anyway. Ryan's had his celebration with Jenny. Don't you think we might have a little party or something?"

"Castle, you want to talk about this now?" Beckett asked incredulously."

"As long as we're both staring at a bunch of clues we'd both know in our sleep, yeah," Castle told her. "I'm happy you're going to be my wife. I don't wanna hide that and it's obvious I'm doing - we're doing - a lousy job anyway. Why not drop the act and let everyone have a little fun? It's not like I'm asking you to put it in _The Ledger_."

"Castle, I can't even think about that right now," Kate replied. "This case has got me..."

Castle stroked her hair. "All right. I understand. Let's try something easier. You want something to eat? It's been, I don't know how long it's been."

Beckett softened, moving to lean her head against his shoulder. "Yeah Castle, that would be nice."

Castle put the last chocolate chip into the smile and called Beckett to the kitchen. Beckett couldn't help smiling in response. "Castle you haven't made me pancakes since you stayed over at my old apartment during the Nikki Heat murders."

"At least I have unexpired eggs this time," Castle teased. "These are my emergency cheering up pancakes, suitable for missed goals and break-ups of boy bands."

"And being the target of a hit man?" Beckett teased.

"Fortunately I never had to try that before," Castle responded. "Teen age rivalries can be vicious, but as far as I know, no one's ever been that mad at Alexis - although I'm not sure about the girl she beat in the model United Nations last year. She had crazy eyes."

Beckett savored the fluffy sweetness.."These are great Castle, thanks."

"Never underestimate the power of chocolate," Castle declared as Beckett's cell buzzed.

"Castle," Beckett reported excitedly, "Ryan and Esposito tracked down a dealer who sold some pills they found in Lockwood's place. He never sold to Lockwood but he identified the buyer as a Jolene from Brooklyn. They have two possibilities. They're covering Jolene Anders, we can cover Jolene Grainger."

"How about our surveillance unit?" Castle asked.

"They can follow us," Beckett decided, "if they can keep up."

A dead body lay on the floor in Jolene Grainger's apartment. Castle felt his hand tremble and hid it in his pocket. "This guy doesn't just shoot his assignments, he took out his girlfriend. That's a special kind of psychopathy."

"Well, we're going to stop him before he takes out anyone else," Beckett resolved, pulling her cell out of her coat. "Esposito, we're at Jolene Grainger's apartment. She's dead."

"We're on our..." Esposito answered as an explosion loud enough for Castle to hear without a speaker, went off in the background.

"Esposito!" Beckett shouted into the phone to unanswering silence.

Castle had backed away involuntarily covering his head with his arms. "Beckett what was that?"

"Hang in there, Babe. I don't know, but I've got to call Montgomery and get some units over there, now!"

Beckett secured the scene of Jolene's murder. While Castle shakily looked around, she awaited word from Montgomery. Finally her phone buzzed. She put it on speaker. "Beckett, what you heard was a flash grenade. There's no sign of Ryan or Esposito. Lockwood must have taken them. The only thing we've recovered is their cell phones."

"Lockwood must have dumped them so we couldn't track him by GPS," Beckett concluded.

Castle jumped in. "Jolene doesn't have a cell phone either."

"He must have taken it," Beckett realized. "That cell phone is a link to him, she'd call him on it."

"I saw a bunch of bills on her desk," Castle added hopefully, running across the room. "There must be a cell phone bill." He flipped through the pile. "Not here! Maybe she pays online," he suggested, opening a laptop.

* * *

><p>Hal Lockwood loomed over Ryan and Esposito who were tied to chairs near a tank of water. A couple of men armed with automatic weapons stood nearby. "I have to congratulate you guys. I've been doing this kind of work for a while and no one's gotten this close to me. Now my problem," he continued, dumping bags of ice into the water, "is that in order to finish my job, I need to find out exactly what you guys know. Look, I have a lot of respect for you guys."<p>

Ryan and Esposito gave Lockwood disbelieving looks. "What? I do," Lockwood protested. "So I'm gonna make you a deal. You tell me what I want to know, one pro to another, and I'll put a bullet in your brain. You don't, you jerk me around, and before the night is over you'll be begging me to."

"I'm gonna have to go with option 'B,'" Esposito smirked.

Visions of Jenny whirled through Ryan's mind. He needed to stay alive for her, and the only way to do that was to stall for time until Beckett could find him. "Oh yeah, we're definitely going to jerk you around."

* * *

><p>"Looks like we lucked out," Castle reported, looking at the screen of the laptop. "We don't need a password to get into her machine. I guess her boyfriend didn't get around to teaching her about cybersecurity. But," he noted, bringing up a site, "we need one to get into her cell phone account. The user name came up automatically. If we can come up with her mother's maiden name, they'll email the password." Beckett was on her phone to the precinct requesting the information before Castle could finish his sentence.<p>

* * *

><p>"This water is ice cold," Lockwood informed Esposito as he held Ryan by the hair. "It's going to burn like hell when it hits his lungs." Lockwood pushed Ryan's head underwater while a frustratedly helpless Esposito looked on.<p>

When Lockwood finally pulled Ryan up again, the detective was pale and choking but defiant. "Look asshole, I was in Catholic school for twelve years. The nuns used to do this to us for talking in class."

"You're dead, Lockwood," Esposito hissed.

"Yeah, at first they always respond with bravado," Lockwood declared smugly. "Then comes the begging." He pushed Ryan's head down again.

* * *

><p>Castle scanned the numbers on the screen. "Lockwood would have been one of the last numbers she called."<p>

"Got it!" Beckett pointed from over his shoulder, as she talked into her phone. "Nine one seven five five five oh one seven six, need a GPS." She leaned down and kissed Castle's temple. "Thanks Babe."

Beckett parked her unit in a row of cars about half a block from the building indicated by the GPS on Lockwood's phone. She looked through a scope at the stocky armed guard at the entrance. "That guy's gonna spot a SWAT team a mile away and warn Lockwood. We call in the cavalry and they're both dead. I'm open to some of your out of the box thinking, Castle."

"We could do what I've been wanting to do all night," Castle replied to her quizzical look, "but since you can usually drink me under the table, I gotta know, how good are you at playing drunk?"

The corners of Beckett's mouth turned upward as she understood his plan. She giggled and staggered against him as they walked from the car. "He's not buying it, Castle," she sing-songed quietly as the guard came toward them.

"Phase two," Castle declared, taking her in his arms. Their lips met. As Beckett pressed herself against his body, trying hard to keep watch on the guard, her senses swam. She returned the kiss, just managing to keep some degree of concentration on her target.

The suspicion with which the guard regarded them transformed into an amused smile as he noted their bodies melting together. As he turned to return to his post, Beckett knocked him out with one kick. "That was amazing," Castle murmured, trying to regain his bearings. "The kick and the kiss."

"Glad you approve - of both," Beckett commented. "Now let's get in there. Stay behind me. God, you don't even have your vest!"

Castle jerked to a stop for a second before recalling the ruthless way Lockwood had taken out his own girlfriend. "No time, let's go!"

Beckett led the way, gun drawn. Stealthily she mounted a wooden stairway overlooking Lockwood's torture chamber, while Lockwood ordered one of his men to shoot out Ryan's kneecap. The thug aimed at Ryan, sneering at Esposito's frantic shout. Beckett squeezed her trigger. Lockwood scrambled for cover as Beckett took out a second henchman. Beckett made her way down the stairs, searching for a way to target Lockwood, as Castle looked on from above. As the gunfire flashed through the building, crushing terror descended on Castle, stealing his breath and paralyzing his limbs. Hazily, he saw Lockwood crouching behind a crate taking aim at Beckett. As Lockwood's finger tightened on the trigger, Castle forced back the smothering mantle of fear and dived downward, colliding with Lockwood and diverting the shot. Castle could see only his lover's attacker. He rammed his fist again and again into Lockwood's face until the man lay bloodied and unconscious on the floor.

Castle knelt over Lockwood panting, as Beckett hurried to his side. "You okay, Babe?"

Adrenaline receding, bolts of pain shot up Castle's arm, but the weight had lifted. He gazed self-satisfied into the concerned hazel eyes. "Never better."


	26. Chapter 26

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 26

Beckett dropped down next to Castle as he sat on the steps of Lockwood's building icing his hand. "How are Ryan and Esposito?" Castle asked.

"Ryan's got mild hypothermia and some water in his lungs. They're taking him in to be checked out. Esposito's got some very wounded pride. Who do you think will heal faster?" Beckett questioned, smiling.

"I'd put my money on Ryan," Castle decided.

"Not with that hand. I heard the EMTs say you should have it x-rayed. I'm taking you to the hospital," Beckett informed him. "That way we can check on Ryan too."

"Did anyone call Jenny?" Castle questioned.

Beckett nodded. "She's already on her way. We'll probably see her there. Ryan asked us to play this whole thing down."

"I don't get to tell how I swooped in like an avenging angel to save your life?" Castle protested.

"More like Chuck Norris," Beckett opined, "except he wouldn't have hurt his hand. But I think Ryan just wants us to minimize the whole torture aspect. He doesn't want those pictures in Jenny's head. So Castle, how's your head?"

"What do you mean?" Castle asked.

Beckett framed his face in her hands. "You know what I mean. The murder, the flash grenade, the gunfire, ever since Raglan's shooting things have been getting to you. So how are you doing?"

"Okay, I think," Castle responded, recalling the melee in the torture den. "I almost couldn't - and then I saw Lockwood about to shoot you. That's all I could think about, everything else went away."

"Well listen, if those feelings come back, there's a guy who works with the department. You'd like him, he sounds like a Klingon. He even looks a little like Worf. You could talk to him," Beckett offered.

"As long as he doesn't come at me with a _bat leth_," Castle agreed, "I'll think about it."

Beckett brought a cup of coffee to a nervous Jenny. "I don't know how you're so calm, Kate," Jenny confided. Your fiancé is in there too."

"Jenny, the hard stuff has already passed," Beckett comforted. "They're going to be fine. See?"

Ryan and Castle came toward them together. Castle had a splinted hand, but Ryan's face held more color than it had when Beckett saw him loaded into an ambulance. Beckett raised questioning eyebrows at Castle.

"A couple of hairline breaks," he responded. "Nothing requiring surgery. On the upside, this is the best excuse I've had for not getting chapters in on time since I was..." He broke off suddenly, realizing he was surrounded by Ryan and Jenny. "Um in a long time," he finished lamely.

"Kevin?" Jenny asked.

Ryan moved in for a quick kiss. "Nothing to worry about. I'm just supposed to rest for a couple of days."

"Well I'm going to make sure you do," Jenny announced decisively, grabbing his arm. "I'm taking you home."

As Jenny steered him toward the exit, Ryan looked back at Castle and Beckett gleefully. Castle gave him a thumbs up with his good hand.

Beckett snuggled against Castle. "I guess I'm taking you home too. What are you going to do with yourself if you can't type?"

"Don't tell Gina, but I have one of those programs that transcribes the spoken word," Castle replied. "I don't use it because it makes some really strange mistakes, like Siri only worse. It's also a lot slower then typing, but I can manage if I have to. Actually I thought I might do a little party planning - that's if you're willing."

Beckett fingered her rings through her shirt. "I guess since you just injured yourself saving me from a hit man, it's time."

"And maybe, at least when you're not on duty, you can actually wear the ring on your finger," Castle suggested gently.

Beckett pulled the chain from beneath her top. "I can do that."

"Babe," Beckett said regretfully after settling Castle on the comfortable couch in his office. "I need to get back to the precinct. Weapon discharges mean lots of paper. You know that. You need a pain pill or something before I go?"

"You're taking away my best pain killer," Castle complained.

Beckett lowered her face to his. "And what would that be?" she teased.

"This," Castle murmured deep in his throat, tangling his uninjured hand in her hair to bring her lips the half inch to his.

"Wow, but I don't think Captain Montgomery's going to accept that as an excuse," Beckett returned regretfully. "Can I continue easing your pain when I get back?"

Castle pulled her in for one more quick kiss. "I'll be waiting."

The loft was dark when Beckett returned. She found Castle lying eyes closed on the large bed. "Hey," he called as she removed her shoes and began to silently undress.

"Hey yourself," she responded. "I thought you were asleep."

Castle stretched. "Just resting, and waiting. Finished feeding the yawning maw of the NYPD bureaucracy?"

"For now," Beckett confirmed. "So whom else would you like me to feed?"

Castle smacked his lips. "I think I'd rather nibble on you."

Beckett let the blouse she had been shedding fall to the floor and padded back to the bed. "It's way past midnight, but I think I can offer you a snack."

Castle drew himself up, leaning on his elbows. As Beckett straddled him, he found the tender notch between her neck and her shoulder and nipped lightly at the skin. Beckett arched, slamming her breasts against him, their lips in desperate collision.

Castle tried to pull her beneath him, wincing as her weight pressed on his wounded hand. "Just let me do the work," she whispered, unbuttoning his shirt before moving her fingers lower. "It's the least I can do for the conquering hero."

The air around them sizzled as the heat of passion rose from their skins. Their bodies melded in fevered urgency. Any pain Castle felt was banished to the farthest corners of his consciousness. As they lay blissfully depleted in the aftermath of the final flash over, Beckett curled into Castle's side. She ran her fingers playfully through the light dusting of hair on his chest, purring contentedly. "I thought you were going to work on party planning."

"What?" Castle asked, still caught in a languid haze. "Yeah, I was. I did. But I don't know if I'll ever be able to top the party we just had."


	27. Chapter 27

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 27

Castle blinked as the bright rays invaded his unwilling eyes. "There shouldn't be this much sunlight in February."

"Maybe it's not how much sun is coming in, but how much rum you put in the punch last night," Beckett suggested.

Castle turned to her, brushing the glossy locks out of her face. "Mmmm. But it was a great party, although Lanie practically had to drag Javi away from the karaoke machine."

"Yeah, I was surprised how good Evelyn Montgomery was," Beckett recalled. "She can really belt it out."

"I think she learned that to get Roy's attention when he starts telling fish stories," Castle agreed. "That marlin gets bigger every time he talks about it. In a year, it's going to be a whale."

Beckett pointed to a tent beneath the blanket. "Speaking of getting bigger."

"What can I say," Castle confessed, "faced with your hotness, like the sun, I can't help but rise to the occasion."

Beckett laughingly rolled her eyes and moved from beneath the covers. "Guess we have time to..." Her cell phone buzzed.

Castle covered his eyes and groaned.

* * *

><p>"Who's the victim?" Beckett asked, eying the bumper-less Taxi.<p>

Esposito consulted his notebook. "Amir Alhabi, taxi driver."

"Okay," Beckett instructed, "contact auto theft. Have them on the lookout for parts stolen off the cab. Was there money on the body?"

"Not on the body, not in the car. Everything points to him being popped for cash and car parts," Esposito surmised.

"Not everything, Baby," Lanie Parrish purred.

"They must have had a good time after she got him away from the microphone," Castle whispered to Beckett.

Beckett elbowed Castle in the ribs before addressing her friend. "You found something unusual?" she inquired.

"Not at first," Lanie replied. "Time of death fits a robbery. He died at eleven fifteen."

"So specific, I'm impressed," Castle commented.

"His watch broke when he fell," Lanie returned.

Castle clicked his tongue. "Shouldn't have told me. Less impressed."

"Cause of death fits too," Lanie continued, ignoring Castle. "Nine millimeter in the noggin. But there's something that doesn't fit. His fingers were broken, one at a time."

"Cabbies sometimes hide there money. Maybe somebody tortured him to tell them where the money was," Castle speculated.

"Alright," Beckett ordered, "let's find out where he was driving and who he picked up before he wound up here."

Beckett, Castle, and Ryan gathered in front of the murder board. "So here's what we know," Beckett summarized. "Amir Alhabi parked for six minutes in the 1600 block of Nicholas Ave before he drove to a warehouse in Washington Heights, but not to pick up a fare. Have unis canvass the area around the warehouse," she told Ryan. "See if anyone remembers seeing him. What was the last phone call he made?"

Ryan scrolled through Amir's phone history. "At 10:01, to his wife, Nazihah Alhabi."

Beckett put down her marker. "Okay, let's go."

"Actually there was one more thing," Ryan added, showing the phone to Castle. "Amir opened a notebook application and he wrote down this."

"C4121652," Castle read and noted it on his pad. "And it was written just about an hour before he died. License tag?"

Ryan shook his head. "No, I checked."

Beckett reached for her coat. "Alright, see if you can figure it out."

Castle snapped his fingers. "I got it! It's a phone number, and the 'C' is the first initial of the person's name."

Ryan shook his head. "I already tried that."

"All the New York area codes?" Castle inquired further.

"Yeah," Ryan replied.

Castle rubbed his chin. "Intriguing, maybe..."

"Castle!" Beckett called sharply.

Castle hurried to catch up. "Somebody's cranky this morning. Should I make you a latte before we go?"

"That's not what I wanted," Beckett complained.

"Yeah, me either," Castle agreed. "We'll maybe if we hurry up and find the killer we can pick things up later."

Beckett sighed. "I don't know, Castle. I don't think this is going to be an easy one."

Beckett spoke softly to a weeping Nazihah. "Mrs. Alhabi, we understand that Amir called you at ten. What did the two of you talk about?"

"Just that he'd be late. The plays were getting out on Broadway and he wanted to pick up more fares," Nazihah replied.

"Actually, he didn't do that," Beckett informed her as gently as she could. "He turned off his meter and drove to Washington Heights. That area is known for drugs and prostitution."

"He would never do such things!" Nazihah protested angrily, as a man handed her a glass of water. "Thank you Jamal."

"There was a notation on Amir's phone. Do you have any idea what this is?" Castle asked, showing Jamal the number he had copied to his notepad.

"C4121652," Jamal read. "No, I thought that this was a robbery, that he was robbed."

"It was," Beckett assured him. "It's just that any minor detail might be relevant. How did he seem lately?"

Nazihah dabbed at her eyes. "Worried - about money. Our daughter Mollica needed surgery. It's been hard. She'll never know her father." Nazihah rose quickly at a wail from the next room. "Excuse me."

"Jamal, you and Amir were business partners?" Beckett asked as Nazihah left.

Jamal nodded.

"How was the business doing?" Beckett questioned.

"You don't get rich driving a cab," Jamal explained, "but we made money. "Amir drove and we rented shifts to other drivers?"

"Who were they?" Beckett inquired, sensing another source of suspects.

"Uh, Kevin McCann and uh, Dmitri Voldov," Jamal told her.

Castle's brows rose. "So you didn't drive the cab?"

Jamal shook his head. "For me the medallion was an investment. I just started a new business, a moving company."

"TLC doesn't issue a lot of medallions," Castle pointed out. "Would've been worth a small fortune. Who inherits Amir's share?"

"Nazihah will. She'll need it," Jamal declared sadly.

Beckett stomped her way down the steps of the Alhabi home. "I get the feeling your frustration can not entirely be attributed to this morning's interrruptus," Castle volunteered.

"Yeah," Beckett agreed. "None of this makes sense, Castle. Amir didn't have much money. Even if someone thought he did and decided to torture him for it, why hold out and get his fingers broken? He could have just handed it over. There's something else going on here, I'm just not seeing it."

"Didn't you get a text while we were talking to Jamal?" Castle inquired.

"Uh huh," Beckett confirmed. "Espo said he had something on the car parts. But even if someone killed Amir for those, it still makes no sense. Why the torture? This is more something for one of your conspiracy theories."

"You're actually asking me for a conspiracy theory?" Castle asked incredulously. He felt her forehead. "Hmmm, no fever. Maybe someone put something in the punch besides rum last night."

Beckett's mouth quirked. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

Lines formed above the bridge of Castle's nose. "Amir picked up 2 thieves who were fleeing with stolen artifacts after cutting out their partner, an archaeologist posing as the janitor in a museum. The janitor took down the number of Amir's cab, thinking he might know where they went with the stolen artifacts. He held Amir at gunpoint and had him take him somewhere on Nicholas Avenue, where Amir said he had dropped them off. When they weren't there, he tortured Amir until Amir randomly gave up the address of the warehouse. When the artifacts weren't there either, he killed Amir and stripped the car to make it look like robbery for parts."

"How about C4121652?" Beckett asked.

"Number of a waybill thieves left in the cab for a secret artifact shipment," Castle replied triumphantly.

Beckett laughed and bumped her hip against his sturdy frame. "Castle, you've been watching too many Indiana Jones marathons, but unfortunately, right now, I don't have another explanation."


	28. Chapter 28

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 28

"Auto theft got a hit on the stolen parts," Esposito reported as Beckett and Castle walked into the bullpen. "Guy named Leman Jones was selling them at a chop shop. Got a match on the VIN numbers."

Beckett hung her coat over the back of her chair and shoved her bag in a drawer. "Where is he now?"

Esposito pointed down the hall with his thumb."Interrogation."

"You don't look enthusiastic," Castle observed to Beckett as he shed his own coat.

"Depends Castle," she replied as they made their way toward the box. "If he's wearing a black hood and has an evil laugh, I might be encouraged."

Leman Jones sported no hood and was more scared than menacing, but Beckett went through the motions. "I found those car parts," Jones protested unconvincingly.

"You found them on a car you stripped, after you killed the driver," Beckett asserted. "We have a witness who places you at the scene, so just stop lying."

"A witness? Okay I stripped the car," Jones admitted. "That's what I do."

"After you killed the driver," Beckett added.

"What? I didn't kill no driver cause there was no driver," Jones maintained.

"He was left in the warehouse," Castle put in.

"Robbed and shot in the head," Beckett added.

"Well not by me," Jones insisted. "I was cruising, okay? And I saw the cab sitting empty. I figured why let good parts go to waste."

"What time was that?" Beckett asked.

"Around eleven fifteen," Jones responded.

Beckett nodded. "Oh."

Castle felt a glimmer of hope for a quick tie up of the case. "There you go. That's when he died."

"Well I didn't kill him!" Jones exclaimed. "I'm just a car guy. I don't hurt people. It must have been your witness. He was playing you, pretending to be an innocent bystander."

"There was no witness," Beckett announced triumphantly.

"She was bluffing. She does that," Castle declared gleefully.

"Yeah there was!" Jones insisted desperately. "I saw him!"

"What did he look like?" Beckett probed.

"I don't know. I didn't get a clear look. He ran off when I drove up, but he was looking for something," Jones offered hopefully.

"How do you know that?" Beckett pressed.

"Because the interior was all torn up," Jones explained. "You don't do that stripping a car. Seats are worth something."

"Castle, you think he's telling the truth?" Beckett asked as they left Jones sitting in interrogation.

"He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer," Castle observed, "I don't think he's got the improv skills to make up a lie like that. Besides, if there's some missing item, that would explain the torture. Amir wouldn't tell the killer where it was, so he searched the cab."

"Strangely, that does make more sense," Beckett agreed. "Hey Espo! Have CSU take a look at the cab, see what they turn up."

Esposito gave a tiny bow. "As you wish."

Beckett turned to Castle. "Definitely something in that punch last night."

Castle and Beckett met Ryan at the murder board. "I spoke to one of the drivers who rents Amir's cab," he reported.

"Kevin McCann?" Castle queried.

Ryan shook his head. "The other one, Dmitri Voldov, but he had plenty to say about McCann. Apparently he and Amir got into a major fight two days ago."

"What about?" Beckett asked.

"Dmitri didn't know," Ryan related, but Amir said he was going to fire McCann."

"Now we're getting somewhere," Beckett declared, writing on the board. "Where's McCann now?"

Ryan consulted his notebook. "Renting a shift at Allied Taxi."

"Ooh, Maybe McCann was doing something shady in the cab, like transporting call girls. Maybe Amir found his trick book and McCann was trying to get it back. When Amir wouldn't give it to him, he killed him and searched the cab," Castle burbled.

Beckett smiled and quirked an eyebrow. "So no stolen artifacts, Castle?"

"Pimping definitely not as exciting, but it'll do in a pinch," Castle decided.

"We'll go see Kevin McCann. Who knows, Castle?" Beckett proposed, "maybe he has a sharp hat and a fur coat."

Kevin McCann had neither. He was buttoned down with a military haircut. "Amir and I had words," McCann admitted. "No law against that, right?"

"Where were you at eleven fifteen last night?" Beckett asked, ignoring the question.

"In this cab driving a drunken bond trader to the upper West, why?" McCann returned.

"Because that's when Amir was murdered," Beckett informed him.

"You're kidding," McCann replied skeptically. "Look, I didn't lay a hand on the guy."

"What did you and he fight about?" Castle inquired.

"He was raping me on rent for the cab," McCann explained. "I asked him to give me a break. Look, he could afford it, he was flashing a roll that could choke a horse. Five grand easy."

Recalling what Nazihah had said about their money woes, Beckett was taken aback. "Wait, was he known for carrying around that much cash?"

McCann shrugged his shoulders. "First I ever saw of it. Look, are we done here, because my meter's running."

"Okay," Beckett told him dismissively, still pondering McCann's information about the money, "but we may have more questions later."

"If Amir was struggling to pay his daughter's medical bills, what was he doing with that much cash?" Castle mused on the way back to Beckett's unit.

Beckett phone buzzed, signaling a text. "Esposito needs us back at the crime scene, ASAP."

* * *

><p>"CSU just figured out why someone was messing with the cab," Esposito reported.<p>

"Why?" Beckett asked.

Esposito pointed to equipment CSU had laid out as evidence. "The cab had pinhole cameras, microphones too."

"Great!" Castle exclaimed. "All we have to do is rewind to last night to see who killed Amir. Case solved."

Esposito shook his head. "That's just it, we can't. They ripped out the hard drives with all the video data."

Esposito's cell rang. "Got it," he replied nodding. "That was Ryan. He traced the serial numbers from the video equipment to the company that put them in. The work was done by some kid who was pretty shook up when Ryan questioned him. He said he put the cameras in for Amir Alhabi."

Beckett crouched, examining what remained of the surveillance equipment, creases forming between her brows. "What the hell is going on here?"

Beckett and Castle shared a pizza at the table in Castle's loft. "So maybe Amir recorded something in his cab someone didn't want known and he was shaking them down? That would explain the money. Maybe Amir tried to squeeze too hard and whoever it was, killed him," Castle proposed.

"But Castle," Beckett objected, "that doesn't explain the torture. If someone was being blackmailed, they'd know why. They wouldn't have to torture Amir to find out."

"Maybe Amir had some evidence and he was tortured to find out where it was," Castle suggested.

"That's possible," Beckett conceded, "but it doesn't help us. We don't know where it was either, or even what it was. We still don't have a real clue as to who killed Amir." Beckett sighed into her pizza. "Maybe if we sleep on it."

Castle wiped a drop of tomato sauce from the corner of Beckett's mouth with his finger and stuck it between his own lips. "I can think of something more interesting than sleeping."

"Yeah," Beckett smiled, "so can I."

Castle held Beckett in the few moments that remained before she'd awaken and they'd have to return to the precinct. As inspirational as the previous night had been, it hadn't gotten them any closer to solving the case. "If I were Amir, where would I stow something? he pondered. He pulled up an image of the murder board in his mind. Swimming, almost flashing before his eyes, was C4121652. He grabbed his phone off the night stand and began to enter information. "Beckett," he yelled excitedly, jolting her awake. "I know where Amir hid it!"


	29. Chapter 29

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 29

Beckett yawned. "Castle, what are you yelling about? I still had, uh, five minutes of sleep left."

Castle pulled her face to his, kissing her firmly before swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "Sorry about waking you but I know what C4121652 means."

"Okay, I'll bite," Beckett told him. "what does it mean?"

Castle wiggled his eyebrows. "We can save the biting for later, but it's a storage unit. Amir parked in the 1600 block of Nicholas Avenue. There's a storage facility at 1652 Nicholas Avenue. C412 is the unit."

Beckett's eyes cleared to brightness as she kissed him back. "You may just have something there. We have Amir's keys in evidence. We can swing by the precinct, get them, and go up to Nicholas Avenue and check."

In front of the storage facility, Castle watched Beckett remove bolt cutters from the trunk of her car. "What do you need those for?" he asked. "You got the keys."

"Just in case none of Amir's keys fit, it's good to have a tool," Beckett replied.

Castle drew a gulping breath. "For reasons too disturbing to mention, I find that hot."

Beckett grinned saucily. "Castle, I think you just like what I do with a tool."

Castle choked, as she turned to walked toward the building. "You're so right," he muttered, chasing after her.

The cutters proved unnecessary as a key from Amir's ring turned smoothly in the lock. The unit was unlit, with only the pale outline of a crate showing. Beckett pulled out her Mag Lite. "Doesn't seem likely someone would keep evidence of blackmail in a crate," she puzzled, shining her light inside.

"We may be back to my archaeologist. Ark of the Covenant, Dr. Jones?" Castle asked in a bad German accent.

Beckett continued to shine her light as they lifted the wooden lid to reveal white packets of a soft clay-like substance. "C-4?" Castle wondered. "What would Amir be doing with explosives?"

A device on Beckett's belt began to beep. "Castle get out! Get out now!" she shouted, pushing him toward the roll up door. Dropping her flashlight in her haste and running behind him, she pulled the door shut and pulled out her phone as she urged him down the hall. "This is Kate Beckett, badge number 0334. I've been exposed to high levels of radiation. Requesting emergency services at 1652 Nicholas Avenue.

* * *

><p>Two men in radiation suits led Castle to the inside of a white plastic tent where Beckett already sat on a bench. Castle sat on the bench opposite her, taking her hand. Have they told you anything? Do they know what we were exposed to? How bad it is?"<p>

Beckett shook her head. "I don't think they know. They'll be sending people in proper protective gear into the storage unit. I'm sure they'll tell us when they can."

"It's a bomb, a nuclear bomb!" Castle exclaimed, rising from the bench.

"Castle, you don't know that!' Beckett protested, her voice quavering.

Castle returned to sit beside her, his arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, it's just the writer in me jumping to the worst case scenario. It could be anything. I read that a lot of metal, even silverware, is radioactive because it gets recycled from dumps outside this country, where they've also stored medical waste. It's a storage facility. It could have any kind of junk."

Beckett smiled wryly. "I don't know if that's better or worse. In a public storage facility a lot of people could have been exposed. The general public doesn't usually carry radiation detectors."

"Speaking of which," Castle asked, "does that thing have a scale, like from chest x-ray to Chernobyl?"

Beckett pressed herself into his shoulder. "Maxed out."

"Oh," Castle murmured softly, laying his head on top of hers to hold her closer.

There was a rasping sound as the door to the tent was unzipped. A man in a radiation suit entered, his helmet removed. "You're free to go," he told them.

"What about the radiation?" Castle questioned.

"We found residual traces of cobalt sixty in the storage unit," the tech informed them, "not enough to cause any health problems."

Castle and Beckett hugged as he kissed her neck. "Cobalt sixty. Hospitals use that for radiation treatment," Castle related happily. "No bomb, just storage junk."

"Oh there was a bomb," Captain Montgomery countered, coming through the door of the tent, "a dirty bomb. There was a second crate at the storage unit with large amounts of cobalt sixty. We found wires and crimp on connectors which lead us to believe that the crate was outfitted with explosives."

"Where's the crate now?" Beckett asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Montgomery replied. "If you two are up to it, we sure could use your help. There's also a complication. A guy named Fallon, an agent of Homeland Security, he's taken over running the investigation. He's really got a stick up his ass, so you two are going to have to behave, at least around him."

"Yes sir," Beckett agreed. "We'll be a the precinct in a little while. We just need to clean up."

"What are you two doing here?" Alexis asked as Beckett and Castle walked into the loft.

"We ran into a mess when we were investigating a scene, just wanted to catch a shower before we go back to the precinct. Mother what are you still doing here?" Castle asked Martha, who sat at the counter with Alexis.

"Just finishing my energizing juice before I go off to the Serenity retreat," Martha replied, "alone, due to your martinet behavior making Alexis stay home to study for a physics test."

"Thank you," Alexis mouthed, grinning at her father out of Martha's view.

"You know," Castle told Alexis, "I've changed my mind about that. Go! You've been too wound up about school. I think it will be better for you to relax a little."

"But my physics test! All my books are here." Alexis protested.

"Take them along," Castle urged.

"I haven't packed anything packed anything," Alexis desperately appealed. "I'll make Gram late."

"Darling," Martha assured her, "everything is provided. Let's just go."

"Go!" Castle added. "It will be good for you."

Alexis threw her father an angry glare before stomping upstairs to get her books. "C'mon Beckett," Castle invited, taking her hand. "Pulsating streams of hot water await."

"It's good you're getting them out of town," Beckett remarked, as they shed their clothes in the bedroom. "At least you know they'll be safe. Alexis will get over it."

"She'll find a way to get me back, but it will be worth it. What about your Dad?" Castle asked.

"He's at a conference in London," Beckett replied thankfully.

Castle turned the water on full blast. "You're really going at this," Beckett observed as they stood under the double nozzles in Castle's oversized shower stall.

Castle scrubbed at himself with a loofah and handed one to Beckett. "We might want to have a little Kate or Rick running around someday. I'm not taking any chances. How about you scrub my back and I'll scrub yours?"

Beckett smile as she flicked her finger at a water drop on his chest. "Deal."

A/N Some of you may be screaming that I got Beckett's badge number wrong. In this episode, that's what she gave it as. It changed later.


	30. Chapter 30

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 30

"Hey," Ryan greeted Beckett and Castle as they walked into the bullpen, "glad you guys are okay. Welcome to Amir Alhabi central, anything and everything about Amir Alhabi."

"What have you got so far?" Beckett asked.

"I've been looking into his financials. Kevin McCann was right about the roll of cash. Up until a few days ago the guy was awash in bills, then suddenly ten thousand dollars appeared in his account," Ryan reported. "We're looking into his family, his contacts, everywhere his cab went and who was in it."

"What about the guy from Homeland Security, Fallon?" Castle inquired.

Ryan looked around the bullpen. "He's coming this way now."

The approaching man was dark in both coloring and mood with ramrod military bearing. "Detective Beckett? Mr. Castle?" Beckett nodded while Castle extended his hand. "Mr. Castle, I would like to thank you for your fine work in this case, but I can't allow it to continue. We can't have a civilian on the front lines with an impending terrorist attack."

"Wow!" Castle exclaimed, "I feel like I'm being promoted and fired all at the same time."

"You can't be fired because you don't actually work here," Fallon pointed out gruffly.

"Yet somehow I managed to figure out where the bomb was," Castle sniped. "My friend the governor will be very disappointed." Castle pulled out his phone and began to tap in numbers, as Captain Montgomery approached.

"Alright," Fallon conceded. "just try to stay out of the way."

"He doesn't trust me," Castle whispered to Montgomery.

"He doesn't trust anyone," Montgomery declared.

"How can I help?" Castle asked.

"Work with Ryan to follow the money," Montgomery suggested.

Castle bent intently over a screen, tracing the deposit into Amir's account from Dearborn Michigan, through a daisy chain leading to a bank used by the military in Afghanistan.

"Yo!" Esposito called to Beckett and Castle as Castle was updating the murder board. "There was a passenger who rode with Amir in a circle for twenty-six minutes. A picture of him was caught on a traffic cam and you could see he was carrying. Unis just finished canvassing the area. Someone recognized him in a coffee shop. He's a regular, there every day about a half hour from now."

Beckett pulled on Castle's arm. "Let's go!"

Beckett and Castle arrived in time to see the man in question strolling down the street in a light suit, strange for a New York February. "You, in the cream colored suit, NYPD, stop right there!" Beckett commanded.

The man turned, raising his hands but appearing unconcerned. Beckett reached under his jacket and took his pistol, ignoring his nose sniffing her hair as she did so. "Nine millimeter, just like our murder weapon." Beckett passed the gun to Castle. "You have a concealed carry permit for this?"

"Inside left pocket, along with my credentials," the man replied mildly.

"Fariq Yusef, Syrian consulate," Beckett read.

"Arms still raised, Yusef gave a little bow. "At your service."

"Put your arms down," Beckett ordered.

Yusef smiled confidently. "Thank you."

"Two days ago you were riding in the cab of Amir Alhabi. "He's been murdered," Beckett stated matter-of-factually."

"I am saddened to hear that," Yusef responded.

"You were in the cab for half an hour, what's the nature of your relationship?" Beckett questioned.

"I have diplomatic immunity, you have no stand..." Yusef began to return, unperturbed.

"Who killed him? Was it you?" Beckett demanded.

"In questioning or detaining me," Yusef continued, as if Beckett had not spoken.

"Answer my question!" Beckett insisted. "Did you kill him?

"I'd like my pistol, please," Yusef requested in even tones.

"You can collect it at the 12th Precinct," Beckett informed him.

Yusef smiled. "And so I shall."

As Yusef walked casually away, Castle gave a little shudder and brushed at his coat as if wiping away invisible slime. "Doesn't he give you the creeps?" he asked Beckett.

"I'm more concerned with whether he killed Amir and what he might know about the bomb," Beckett replied. "Let's get back and see what Ryan and Esposito dug up. We should also have ballistics test this gun."

Ryan met Beckett and Castle in front of the murder board. "Fariq Yusef's official title at the consulate is head of security. He's a member of the secret police."

"And he owns a pistol the same caliber as the murder weapon," Beckett added.

"He'd have more than enough reason to be interested in Amir," Ryan continued, "before he came to the United States, Amir was involved in weapons research in Syria."

"Nuclear weapons?" Castle asked.

Ryan nodded. "Of course the Syrians deny it, but that's what Amir told the State Department when he applied for asylum. The Syrians would not have been happy to lose him."

"I imagine Yusef has broken a few fingers in his day," Castle speculated. "Maybe Yusef recruited Amir here, maybe threatened his family still remaining in Syria. He drew Amir back into constructing weapons and then when he finished his mission, killed him and took the hard drives to destroy any evidence of their relationship."

"What about the money?" Beckett asked.

Castle stroked his chin. "I'm still thinking on that."

"Except that Yusef's not the killer," Esposito declared, coming across the bullpen. "The night Amir was killed, Fariq was with the Syrian ambassador at a soccer game at Bennett Field. There are photos online to prove it."

"Hey!" Montgomery yelled, coming up to the board. "The guys I had scrubbing the surveillance from the storage facility, they came up with something."

Castle and Beckett bent over the screen showing video of a man with a large crate on a dolly, wheeling it away from unit C412. Montgomery stood behind them. "That's Jamal. That must be the bomb!" Castle exclaimed. "He'd need a truck or a van to put it in. Didn't he say he's just started a moving company?"

"He did." Beckett agreed. "The bomb probably went into one of his trucks."

"Okay," Montgomery instructed the surrounding detectives, "I want all those trucks, Jamal's employees, everything about that moving company nailed down. They've got that bomb somewhere and we need to find it before they set it off."

"Beckett, can I talk to you for a minute?" Castle asked.

Beckett inclined her head toward the break room. "Sure Castle. What's on your mind?"

"The more pieces we get of this the less it makes sense. Jamal was wheeling a bomb, but it didn't look like he knew it. He should have been sweating bullets at every bump, but he wasn't. He just looked like a man hired to move a crate. Also we're assuming the Syrians had something to do with this, but if they did, why did the money deposited in Amir's account come from Afghanistan? We still don't know why Amir's fingers were broken or why he had cameras in his car and we don't know who killed him. There is no story that fits all of this, not even one I can make up."

Beckett stared at Castle in consternation at the truth of his words. "What are you getting at?"

"What do you think of this guy Fallon?" Castle asked.

Beckett shrugged. "He's kind of a douche."

"An open minded douche?" Castle questioned.

Beckett shook her head. "Not really."

Castle sighed. "Then I think I need to do something he really wouldn't like." Castle brushed at his sleeve. "I don't like it either."

* * *

><p>Castle sat over coffee with Fariq Yusef.<p>

"Off the record or not, why should I talk to you about Amir Alhabi?" Yusef asked.

"Because the last thing you want is my country thinking your country is behind his activities." Castle offered.

"Nothing could be farther from the truth," Yusef stated.

"Then maybe you can help clear this up. Amir was part of your nuclear program, so he was an asset. You have him watched?" Castle inquired bluntly.

"I make it my business to stay informed," Yusef replied.

"You ever see any evidence of terrorism?" Castle questioned.

"No," Yusef replied, "but what other answer could I give you?"

"Our detectives reported that you were at Amir's home home. Why?" Castle probed.

Yusef smiled smarmily. "To chat with him. I am adept at violence but it wasn't called for. I met with Amir from time to time to remind him of his history."

"To convince him to come back, back to the weapons program," Castle suggested.

"Amir did vital research for us," Yusef related. "He left because he had moral qualms about his work. Normally money can overcome such obstacles. Not so with Amir."

"What happened on that cab ride?" Castle continued.

"Amir sought me out," Yusef explained. "He was quite angry. He believed I had placed ten thousand dollars in his account to pressure him. He was mistaken."

Castle's eyes widened. "Wait a minute! You're saying Amir didn't know where the money came from?"

"It's been nice talking to you Mr. Castle. As events unfold, you may find you have a need of a man with my skills." Yusef laid a card on the table. "If such a need arises..."

Castle tucked the card in his pocket and hurried back to the 12th. "Beckett, you need to listen, all our assumptions are..."

Fallon strode angrily down the hall, interrupting, "I need to speak to you two." Fallon led the way to Montgomery's office where Montgomery sat silently. "Now I like to cover all my bases. Imagine my surprise when I discover that one of our own was having a latte with a suspect in this case."

"If you just allow me to explain..." Castle began.

"I don't even know what you're doing here," Fallon interjected angrily. "And you go and talk to a Syrian official! How do you know the Syrians aren't behind this? Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Amir and Jamal are not terrorists!" Castle retorted. "You're chasing the wrong guys."

"Do you know how many laws you've broken?" Fallon yelled. "I should have you arrested!"

Beckett stepped forward. "Sir, I think what Castle is trying..."

"Detective, did you know about this?" Fallon interrupted.

"Yes sir, I did," Beckett admitted.

"Well that's disappointing," Fallon told her. "In the interest of national security I'm removing both of you from this case. Do you understand?"

"Sir, Beckett's the best that I have," Montgomery protested. "Castle's a pain in the ass, but he thinks outside the box."

"It's not your party anymore, Captain." Fallon turned to Beckett and Castle. "I'll have my agents escort you out. Oh and Castle, the governor's never heard of you."

Castle stood outside the precinct, waiting to hail a cab. "Kate, we can't let this happen. Someone's going to set off a dirty bomb because that asshole is chasing the wrong people. We have to do something!"

Beckett squeezed his hand. "I understand Castle, and as soon as we get back to the loft we will, I promise."

A/N Sorry so much of this is canon, although truncated and shuffled around a bit. I needed it to set up the upcoming situation. The next chapter will be more AU.


	31. Chapter 31

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 31

"Good thing I managed to snap a picture before we were tossed out." Castle plugged his phone into his projector at the loft. "There you go, a six hundred thread count murder board. And here," he pointed, picking up his laptop, "is Amir's driving data. It's like a mini-precinct."

"But smells better," Beckett observed, pressing her head against his shoulder and breathing deeply.

Castle smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her hair before continuing. "Thank you. How about this? Amir overhears a terrorist plot. He has cameras installed to gather evidence, only they found out and killed him."

"That would mean that a passenger was involved. A regular passenger, maybe talking on the phone." Beckett offered.

"Right, and they mentioned the storage unit which is where Amir got C4121652," Castle added.

Lines formed on Beckett's brow as she screwed up her face in thought. "But why would a terrorist talk about a plot in front of a cabbie? That makes no sense. He could hide what he was doing by texting, or better yet sending an encrypted email."

"You're right!" Castle exclaimed. "We're thinking about this all wrong. A passenger wouldn't talk in front of a driver, but a driver might talk alone in the cab, on the phone. What if Amir suspected another driver?" Castle tapped the keys of his laptop. "Here's Kevin McCann's last shift, the day before the murder. Look at that! He stopped at the storage facility. And here, he stopped at the warehouse where Amir's body was found. That can't be a coincidence."

"No it can't," Beckett agreed. "We need to find out what's so interesting about that warehouse."

"Your unit is at the precinct, we can take my car," Castle suggested.

"You want to drive a Ferrari to Washington Heights?" Beckett asked.

"I was actually thinking about the Mercedes," Castle responded, "although for that neighborhood, it's not a whole lot better. Well, it's GPS traceable and insured."

Castle pulled up in front of the warehouse. "This is where Kevin McCann parked."

"Looks empty," Beckett observed.

"There must be something here," Castle insisted.

Beckett was silently annoyed with herself that they hadn't grabbed Castle's vest from the trunk of her unit before leaving the precinct. "Stay behind me," she instructed Castle as she drew her gun. They entered the building, immediately spying a white van. "That wasn't here before," Beckett whispered. As quietly as she could, she pulled open the rear door. Immediately her radiation detector began to beep. In the rear of the van was a canister with a radiation warning, hooked up to three gas canisters and a timer counting down. Shots came out of the darkness of the warehouse.

Beckett spotted what looked like an out to their left. "Castle, door. Get ready to move." Beckett laid down what she hoped was covering fire as they ran for the opening, slamming heavy steel behind them.

Castle heard a lock click on the outside of their sanctuary. Gazing around, he could see that they were in a steel container. Icy cooling coils lined the walls. At the far end something lay under a sheet of plastic. Castle walked over to investigate. "It's Jamal," he reported grimly. "He's dead."

Outside their prison, white plastic was ripped off the van revealing a black one.

Castle wryly shook his head. "Fallon has no idea he's chasing a dead man."

Beckett checked her phone. "Castle I don't have any bars, do you?"

Castle held up his phone, trying all directions. "No," he reported.

Beckett threw herself against the steel door. "We'll be joining Jamal if we don't get out of here."

"Whoa, Kate, that's solid steel," Castle cautioned. "The only thing you're going to break is your exquisite bones. We need to think this through."

"Castle, what's to think about?" Beckett retorted, "If we don't get out of here, we're going to freeze to death."

"Let's take care of the freezing part first," Castle proposed. "We're both dressed for a pretty warm February, it was about forty degrees out there. I did some research on this. Remember I had Derrick Storm locked in a freezer by a Russian spy? Commercial freezers run at about thirty below. We're under-dressed by about seventy degrees. Come here and get inside my coat with me, we need to conserve heat as much as possible." Castle wrapped his coat and his arms around Beckett."Now we have to think about disabling the cooling mechanism."

"If I remember the book, Derrick did that by messing with the leads to the thermostat. But there is no thermostat in here Castle."

"No, but I looked at other methods he could have used. Cooling systems are very vulnerable. The metal of the coils is soft and they have to be connected to the compressor outside. Here, move with me." Castle and Beckett awkwardly shuffled their way to the end of the car where a cooling coil went through the wall of the container.

"That connection looks tight, Castle," Beckett observed. "We'd need a wrench or something and we'd freeze our hands just touching the thing."

"Then you need to use your gun," Castle told her.

"How?" Beckett asked. "If I try to shoot our way through the door, we could be killed by the recoils."

"Not the door," Castle said, "the coils. You need to put as many holes in them as you can. If the gas escapes, no cooling."

"You want me to gas us?" Beckett inquired skeptically.

Castle shook his head. "It won't smell good but it isn't that toxic. We'll be okay."

"I'll need to save some bullets in case our terrorists come back," Beckett figured.

"Good idea," Castle agreed.

"Castle, it's still really cold in here," Beckett said through chattering teeth after shooting as many holes as she could in the cooling mechanism.

"Yeah, we should cuddle again, but we also need to keep moving as much as we can. We'll be warmer and we need to stay alert for when someone comes back for Jamal's body."

"What makes you think someone will come back for the body?" Beckett asked.

"That's the story," Castle explained. "Can you put one arm through through the sleeve of my coat, put your gun hand in my pocket to keep it warm? Then we can try to walk while I tell you."

Castle slipped out of the right sleeve of his coat and put his arm tightly around Beckett's waist while she stuck her arm through."Castle I'm swimming in here. Sometimes I forget how wide your shoulders are."

"Are you warmer?" Castle asked. "can you hold onto your gun?"

"Holding on just barely," Beckett told him, "But this is working and I think we can walk together. Tell me your story."

"For some reason Kevin McCann and some of his buddies put together a plan to set off a dirty bomb and use Amir and Jamal as patsies. Kevin McCann looked ex-military. He might have known about that bank in Afghanistan. He wired the money into Amir's account. McCann finds the cameras and tortures Amir to find out how much he knows. Then he kills Amir and plants a key to the storage unit on him. He hires Jamal to move a crate. Jamal has no clue what's in it. Then he kills Jamal. He saves Jamal's body in here to put in the van when the bomb goes off. When the remains of Jamal's body are found, it looks like the bomb was set off by Syrian terrorists.

"Why would someone who is ex-military do that?" Beckett asked, the words coming slowly through cold lips.

Castle shook his head. "I don't know. When we catch him, we'll have to ask him."

Beckett pressed herself against Castle's body, her left arm tightly around his waist. "Castle, if this doesn't work out, I just want you to know how glad I am that I didn't lose you when you were shot, that we've had the time we did have together. I've never been happier than I have with you."

Castle reached up with his left arm to stroke her chilled cheek. "I've never been happier with anyone than I have with you either, but we're not going to die. We haven't even started to plan the wedding yet. We have a lot to do, a lot to look forward to. We'll get through this, you'll see. Then we can talk about all of those things. I'd kiss you, but our lips would probably freeze together. Rain check?"

Beckett smiled as best she could. "Rain check. Listen do you hear that? It's the lock." Beckett pulled her hand, with her gun in it, out of Castle's coat pocket. A man came through the door and aimed a gun toward Beckett and Castle. She shot first.

A/N For my readers who don't live in the US, 40F is 4C, -30F is -34C. Also, those of you who have read my other stories know that I have written before about the relative fragility of cooling systems in relation to _Countdown_ and proposed a couple of scenarios that Castle and Beckett could have used to escape without intervention from Alexis, Josh, Ryan, and Esposito. This story differs because with Castle and Beckett together, a new conversation is started.


	32. Chapter 32

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 32

Beckett freed herself from Castle's coat and took the gunman's weapon, wincing at the feel of the cold metal. Feeling for a pulse, she discovered that the gunman was down but not dead. Checking, she found the gunman's weapon to be fully loaded and handed her own almost empty weapon to Castle. She signaled for Castle to follow her as she cautiously peered out the door of the freezer. There was no sign of other gunmen or of the van. "C'mon Castle, let's get the shooter out of there. Maybe we can get something out of him."

"I'll do it," Castle said. "Call the EMTs."

"I'll need to call the task force too," Beckett put in.

Castle snorted as he dragged the body from the freezer. "You better call Montgomery. If you call Fallon, his head will explode."

Beckett smiled at the visual as she held her phone.

Castle checked the gunman's pockets. "I guess he wasn't expecting to be caught. He's got ID on him. His name's Evan Bauer."

The task force arrived en masse immediately following the ambulance. As one EMT tended to the wounded gunman, another handed blankets to the still shivering Castle and Beckett who gratefully wrapped each other up. Montgomery and Fallon jumped out of a car. "You two just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" Montgomery asked, the hint of a smile on his lips.

"Are you two always this stubborn and insubordinate?" Fallon demanded, scowling.

"Only when we're trying to save the world," Castle retorted.

"It would have been better if you'd succeeded," Fallon returned.

"Well that's on you," Castle rejoined. "If you hadn't been so closed minded and kicked us off the task force, we would have been here with a squad of cops and we'd have the bomb. Now it's gone and it was set to go off thirteen hours from when we found it." Castle looked at his watch. "That would make it about ten hours from now."

Fallon bristled. "That's if you two actually found the bomb."

An officer with the insignia of the Rad Unit walked up. "The bomb was here, sir. There's a hot spot of residual radiation."

Beckett attempted to cool the situation. "It was in a white van, sir. We also have the identity of the gunman, Evan Bauer, although someone should get his prints to verify it. We need to find everything we can on him and Kevin McCann."

"Why Kevin McCann?" Montgomery asked.

"That's what led us here, sir. Castle looked at McCann's route over the time before Amir was killed. He was at the storage facility and he came here. He's part of this sir, and he tried to frame Amir and Jamal. Our assumption is that he or Bauer was going to plant Jamal's body in the van with the bomb to make it look like the Syrians were responsible. Clearly, they weren't. Under the circumstances, I would request that Castle and I be reinstated in the task force."

"Alright," Fallon agreed reluctantly, "get cleaned up and meet us at the precinct. We have a lot of work to do."

Beckett reached for the control console as Castle drove. "What are you doing?" Castle asked.

"Just making sure the heat is up all the way," Beckett replied.

"I set the climate control for eighty, that's usually more than stifling, and I turned on full heat in the seats." Castle told her. "You want more? There are manual controls for your side. Set them however you like."

"Thanks," Beckett replied. "I think I'd like it really hot."

Castle felt warmth independent of the heating system infuse his body as he pictured steam rising from her skin and licking at his own.

"Wow!" Castle exclaimed as he and Beckett returned to the loft. "Seems like you and I are heading for the shower a lot lately."

"I'm gonna start some coffee first," Beckett said. "We'll at least have something hot to drink when we get out. Turn the hot water up all the way."

"You know it," Castle agreed.

The last of their shivers receded as they stood under the hot spray. Castle gazed at the water making a path down Beckett's body. "I'm going to collect my rain check now." Without the height of her ubiquitous heels, Beckett stood on tiptoe to meet his lips. Castle pulled her to him as the water pounded their bodies. "I wish I could make love with you now, but we need to go save New York from a dirty bomb."

Beckett laughed. "It's always something."

"Another rain check?" Castle asked.

Beckett gave him one last kiss before reaching to turn off the taps. "Absolutely."

Ryan met Beckett and Castle as they entered the bullpen. "Homeland took a scan of Bauer's prints and sent them to the lab, FBI style. He is Evan Bauer, ex-special forces. He did multiple tours in Afghanistan. Most of the guys from his unit are still there or dead except these two." Ryan pointed to pictures on the murder board.

"That's Kevin McCann," Castle said, pointing to one of the pictures.

Esposito joined them shaking his head. "Kevin McCann, the real Kevin McCann is in Arlington National Cemetery. That's Radford Hayes. We're trying to track him down now. There was no one at his apartment but we have a unit watching the place. He has a cell phone under his Kevin McCann identity, but it's old style. It doesn't have native GPS. If he makes a call, we'll see what towers he pings."

"Who's this guy?" Castle asked pointing to the other picture.

"Jack Cochran, he worked in bomb disposal," Ryan answered.

Castle nodded. "So he would be our bomb builder. Any location on him?"

Esposito shook his head. "In the wind."

A tech shouted across the bullpen. "Got a location on Hayes!"

"Let's go!" Beckett commanded.

Radford Hayes stared defiantly at Fallon and Beckett in interrogation. "You assholes should be thanking me. The bureaucrats in Washington care more about scoring political points than they do about winning the war. They use us up and then toss us aside like tissue paper. This country needs a wake up call, and it's going to get one. Maybe next time they'll get it right."

"Look, I know you're angry," Fallon told him. "But what you're doing, what you're involved in, it's not the way."

"Radford," Beckett murmured softly. "You're a soldier. The people in this city are not your enemies. Women, children, they'll all be hurt or killed. That's not your mission. Tell us where the bomb is."

"They're wasting their time," Esposito told Castle as they watched from observation."

"Why do you say that?" Castle asked.

"He's special forces," Esposito declared. "We're trained for this. Never give up information. Never give away your position. They're not going to be able to break him, at least not in time."

Fallon rose from the table, staring down at Hayes. "Do you see yourself as a great hero doing this for a mighty cause? You think that's how people are going to see you? Well I'll tell you brother, that bomb goes off and you're going down in history as this country's greatest mass murderer. Is that how you want to be remembered?"

Radford smirked. "When this bomb goes off do you think they're going to be looking at me? People will see this as an act of terror, so they'll be looking for a terrorist, not me, not one of their own."

Fallon pounded the table. "Is that how you see yourself? A patriot? There's a word for people like you and it's not patriot, it's traitor!"

Hayes shook his head, smiling. "The powers that be have no use for a traitor. So when they find their terrorist, and they will find their terrorist, what do you think will happen to me? Well let me tell you, because I know them. I know how they think. I will become a footnote in your files buried so deep no one will ever find it. Anything else would be an inconvenience to their self-serving rabble-rousing narrative. So why don't you do us all a favor and accept the inevitable?"

Red with rage, Fallon shoved the table into Hayes and leaping over it, crouched near the still smiling bomber. "You think this is a joke? You think I'm playing with you?" Fallon drew his gun and stood over Hayes. "Where's the bomb?"

Beckett stood in shock. "Fallon no!"

"Where's the target? Where is it?" Fallon persisted.

"Fallon, lower your gun," Beckett demanded.

"Not until he tells me what I want to know," Fallon ground out. "Are you prepared to go all the way? Are you?"

"Fallon!" Beckett shouted.

Hayes never lost his smile. "I'm prepared to die for my country. Are you?"

"Put down your weapon now," Beckett commanded as Montgomery and Esposito rushed into the room. Holstering his weapon, Fallon stormed out.

Castle followed a trembling Beckett into the break room. "Hey, I'll do that," he offered, as she shakily reached for the coffee pot.

Beckett turned and fell into Castle's arms. "Castle, that man is a lunatic," she murmured against his chest.

Castle stroked her back and nuzzled her hair. "Was that man born an asshole or did he take lessons?"

"Neither," Ryan said, coming in and reaching for the pot. "I asked my buddy in Homeland about him. He lost his wife in nine eleven. She rode the second tower down, They were on the phone when it happened. Since then, he's been obsessed with catching terrorists."

"He lost someone he loved and now he's driven by obsession," Castle muttered. Hugging Beckett more tightly, he thought to himself, "Where have I seen that before?"

A/N 80F is a little under 27C.


	33. Chapter 33

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 33

Esposito poked his head in the break room. "Evan Bauer's awake."

"Maybe he's less willing to give his life for his country than Hayes was," Castle speculated optimistically, dropping his arms from around Beckett.

Beckett started for the door. "Let's go."

Swathed in bandages and hooked to an IV and a monitor, Bauer still stared balefully at Beckett and Castle.

"Your plan isn't going to work, Bauer," Beckett asserted. "We have you, we have Hayes. There's no way anyone is going to believe this is a terrorist plot. They will believe that a lot of innocent people were murdered, just like in Oklahoma City. Nobody made a hero out of Tim McVeigh."

Bauer sneered. "That's what you think. That bomb will go off and a terrorist will be blamed. This country will have its call to action and there's nothing you can do about it." Bauer closed his eyes and escaped into sleep.

"How'd it go with Bauer?" Fallon asked, when Beckett and Castle returned to the precinct.

Beckett took an unconscious step back before answering. "He wouldn't give us anything. He's as crazy as Hayes. And you," she added silently to herself.

"Beckett, he did tell us something, pretty much the same thing Hayes claimed," Castle offered. "A terrorist will be found."

Beckett continued Castle's line of thought. "Bauer knew that both Amir and Jamal are out of the picture. There must be a backup plan. Cochran, or whomever is left to pull off the bombing is going to use someone else."

Fallon turned to the cops assembled in the bullpen. "Look at everyone who might be framed as a terrorist. Jamal's employees, friends, relatives, family."

"Oh my God!" Beckett exclaimed. "Nazihah!"

Fallon pulled out his phone. "I have a man on her." Fallon swiped the screen while Beckett looked on anxiously. Fallon shook his head. "He's not picking up."

"Castle," Beckett called. "Let's go!"

Castle and Beckett ran from her unit to the small row house that served as home to the Alhabi family. Beckett pulled up short when she saw a man in the driver's seat in a car parked nearby. A hole in the center of his forehead could clearly be seen through the window. "Oh no! That's Fallon's surveillance guy!" Beckett hurried up the steps of the house with Castle at her heels. "Nazihah!" Mother and baby were both gone.

Castle pointed to a note on the table. "Look."

"Allah Akbar. I go to my glory against the forces of the infidel," Beckett read. "Nazihah's their new terrorist."

"If they took her daughter too, they'll probably threaten the baby to get Nazihah to do whatever they want," Castle said grimly.

Beckett closed her eyes as her shoulders slumped. "And we still have no idea where they are."

Fallon pounded his fist on the desk in front of the murder board in helpless anger. "We have all our choppers in the air, we're checking out possible venues for a bombing and we still have nothing! We're running out of time. We can only hope we get lucky."

Castle pulled out a card he had secreted in his pocket. "There is another way, but you won't like it."

Fallon took the card and stared at it, his mouth a hard line of frustration. He looked at Beckett and Montgomery, both of whom nodded and gave the card back to Castle. "Make the call."

Fariq Yusef strode confidently off the elevator. "Mr. Castle, so good to see you again." Castle ushered him into the interview lounge where Beckett and Fallon waited. "Detective Beckett, he said, his eyes raking up and down her body, wonderful to see you, and Agent Fallon, your reputation precedes you."

"Does the Syrian Consulate even know you're here?" Fallon asked, hostility clear in his voice.

Yusef ignored Fallon's question. "When last we met, Detective Beckett, you relieved me of my pistol. I thought that now might be a good time to retrieve it."

Beckett nodded, leaving the room. She returned to hand Yusef his nine millimeter.

Measuring each word, Castle began the discussion. "Mr. Yusef, when we last met you told me it was in your business to stay informed."

"I find in my business it is important to keep up with current events," Yusef acknowledged.

"And I'm sure you and your country would do everything in your power to avoid a terrible misunderstanding if Amir and his wife Nazihah were mistakenly believed to be involved in an act of domestic terrorism," Castle continued.

"I would say it's in both our interests," Yusef agreed.

"You also mentioned that Amir was of special interest to you," Castle recalled as Fallon fidgeted impatiently.

"We at the Syrian Consulate wanted to make sure that Amir was happy in his new home. So yes, we checked in with him from time to time," Yusef responded casually.

"And what about Nazihah, did you check on her?" Beckett questioned.

"Under the circumstances, we thought it would be appropriate to send our condolences," Yusef replied.

"You had her under surveillance, didn't you?" Fallon jumped in angrily, earning warning looks from both Castle and Beckett. "Where is she?"

"Mr. Fallon," Yusef returned sharply, "The Syrian Consulate is strictly a diplomatic mission. Certainly we are not in the business of spying on American citizens." Yusef rose and took a couple of steps toward the door before turning back. "If, however, you were to happen by a red brick industrial building at the corner of 158th and Franklin, I don't think you would be wasting your time. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment - outside the city."

The cries of a baby could be heard through the door as the SWAT team busted it down. Jack Cochran was there and immediately taken down and cuffed, but there was no sign of Nazihah or the van containing the bomb. "Look," Beckett shouted, pointing to a desperate image on a monitor. "It's Nazihah. She's driving the van."

Fallon pushed Cochran against the hard concrete floor and stood over him. "Look, we have Hayes and Bauer and they both flipped on you. You're going down for this. No one is going to blame a terrorist."

"Everyone will know it's you," Beckett added. "There will be no politicians jumping to the fore, no military response, just the whole country clamoring for revenge against a mass murderer. If you ever want to see the light of day again, you'll tell us where that van is going."

Cochran looked at the determination in Beckett's eyes and the blazing madness in Fallon's. "Times Square, she's going to Times Square, and the van is black now. Nazihah left ten minutes ago."

"Get the choppers looking for a black van!" Fallon yelled into his radio.

"If she left ten minutes ago we might be able to catch her," Castle advised.

"Take Broadway or Riverside," Fallon ordered.

"We've got Broadway," Beckett yelled as she and Castle headed for the car.

"You should not have taken Broadway," Castle told Beckett as she drove.

"It's the most direct route to midtown," Beckett disagreed.

"But not the fastest," Castle argued. "You know me, I always want the fastest way through traffic. Broadway slows down in the seventies through midtown. Nazihah was married to a cabbie. She'd know that. "She'd take West End to 11th and then cut across 48th because there's construction on 46th.

"Okay, Castle," Beckett conceded reluctantly, steering to Castle's suggested route.

The radio blared that a chopper had spotted a black van speeding down Broadway. Beckett ground her teeth. "I'm turning around, Castle."

"No, no," Castle urged. "It's the wrong van. Look! Look!"

A black van veered wildly through traffic a short distance ahead of them. Beckett floored her accelerator to come alongside. "Pull over," she shouted through the open window. Nazihah looked terrified, continuing to drive until Beckett forced her to the curb."

"You don't understand!" Nazihah cried. "My baby, they have my baby!"

"We have your baby, she's safe," Beckett soothed as Castle pulled open the back door of the van.

"Beckett!" Castle called.

"Run as far as you can," Beckett told Nazihah before joining Castle and pulling out her phone. "Dispatch, this is one Lincoln forty. We found the bomb on 55th and 11th."

"One Lincoln forty, copy," Dispatch responded. "Bomb squad en route. ETA three minutes."

"Dispatch, that's about two minute too late," Beckett responded, her voice catching.

"One Lincoln forty, stand by," Dispatch returned.

Beckett swiped her screen in desperation. "Fallon, do you know how to disarm a bomb?"

"I don't know," Fallon answered, "can you send me a picture?"

Beckett aimed her phone at the bomb. "Yeah. Uploading now. Have you got it? Fallon?"

"Forty-five seconds," Castle reported.

"I can't see anything!" Fallon responded, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

The timer counted down from thirty seconds. "Castle!" Tears formed in Beckett's eyes as she grabbed his hand.

Images poured into Castle's mind: Kate in a wedding dress, Alexis in a wedding dress, Kate pregnant. "No!" he shouted, wrapping his hand around all the wires of the bomb and pulling them free. The countdown stopped with a second left on the timer. Castle and Beckett stared at it in disbelief for a moment before falling into each others' arms. Their lips met in a fervent kiss destined for multiple uploads to Facebook and Twitter from passing tourists.

Castle finally broke contact as the Bomb Squad arrived. "Bomb, radiation, we should get out of here. And I was thinking, we should get another shower, and if I recall correctly, I have a rain check to cash in."

Beckett pushed his hair back from his forehead and stroked his cheek. "Your memory is perfect."

Hands firmly entwined, they left the van behind.


	34. Chapter 34

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 34

Beckett's eyes struggled to focus on the text on her phone as Castle slept beside her. Castle stirred as she groaned. "What's wrong?"

"Captain Montgomery. He wants us back at the precinct for some kind of debrief."

Castle scrubbed a hand over his eyes. "He's got to be kidding. We save the city and we can't even get the rest of the day off?" Castle moved his legs experimentally. "I'm not sure I can walk anyway."

Beckett smiled mischievously. "Yeah, that was some rain check. But look, we'll do what he wants us to do as fast as we can and then come back here for a little more - rest."

Beckett and Castle arrived at the 12th to find the bullpen and Montgomery's office empty. Castle looked around confused. "Where is everyone?"

"Let's get some coffee," Beckett suggested.

"Copy that," Castle agreed as they headed for the break room. The room was crammed full. Uniformed officers, detectives, Montgomery, and Mayor Robert Whelan were there, the latter two on high stools at one of the tables. A banner reading: "Thanks for Saving Our City," hung on the wall.

"'Bout time you got here," Montgomery smilingly chided.

"Bob, what are you doing here?" Castle asked his mayoral poker buddy.

"Look," Whelan explained. "There was so much activity on the social media by people who saw you two, uh, celebrating near the bomber's van that we had to put out some kind of a cover story about a couple of wackos with a bomb, a conventional bomb. This city doesn't need to know just how close it came to another disaster. But everyone here knows what you two actually did. So we put together a little thank you party - and these." Whelan opened two jeweler's boxes on the table.

Beckett recognized the contents immediately. "Medals of valor, sir..."

"Don't sir me, Kate. We've both lost enough hands of cards to this crazy man of yours to dispense with that, especially at a party. Just let me pin these on you and we can all have cake."

Whelan and Montgomery both rose from their stools as the cops in the room stood at attention and saluted. Montgomery pinned on Beckett's medal and Whelan pinned on Castle's and the room broke into wild applause.

Ryan came forward from the back of the crowd wheeling a cart with a sheet cake. "Thank you Castle and Beckett," was piped over an image of the New York City skyline.

"One of my sisters runs a bakery," Ryan explained. "She rushed this through."

"Well thank her very much for this," Castle said, as Ryan handed Beckett a cake cutter.

Beckett turned to Castle. "You want to do this together?"

Castle smiled. "Yeah, it will be good practice."

With both of their hands on the handle of the knife, Beckett and Castle made the first cuts in the cake as the crowd applauded again."

Officer Harrison extended a hand to take the knife. "Here I can do that."

"Sit with us," Montgomery invited Beckett and Castle, as he and Whelan returned to their table.

"In a moment," Castle demurred, putting his cake on the table in front of the stool next to Beckett's. "There's something I need to do."

Castle gently pushed through the crowd to make his way to the espresso machine. Concentrating on his task, he returned with two heart topped lattes and handed one to Beckett. "Two pumps, sugar free vanilla, he announced."

"Oh, I need this," Beckett responded thankfully. "Castle, I knew I could depend on you."

Castle combed his fingers into her hair, tucking it behind her ear. "Always."

As Montgomery, Whelan, and Beckett began talking about some updates to the emergency communications system that would make it easier to coordinate services in future emergencies, Castle tuned his ears to another conversation. "We're having a hard time, Javi. I used up most of my savings during my suspension, then there was the ring. Jenny has a great time as a buyer, but she doesn't make that much money and a lot of it is still going to school loans. Jenny and I are both from such large families. We have have all these relatives and we can't afford to put on the kind of wedding that will accommodate them."

"So what are you going to do bro?" Esposito asked.

"Unless I win the lottery, we're going to need to go really small. A lot of the family will be mad at us, but there's nothing else we can do," Ryan replied sadly.

"You could elope, fly off to Vegas for a weekend. Of course," Esposito suggested preening, "your best man could go with you."

Ryan shook his head. "Can't do it, Javi. Jenny wants a church wedding and so do I. That's what we grew up with and that's what we've dreamed about our whole lives."

Esposito but a hand on his friend's arm. "Alright bro, whatever you decide to do you know I'm there for you, right?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah Javi. Thanks."

An idea began to form in Castle's mind. "Hey," he whispered in Beckett's ear, "when we get back to the loft there's something we need to talk about."

Beckett smiled saucily. "I didn't think you were that interested in talking, Castle."

Castle chuckled softly. "We'll get into that too, but really."

Beckett could see uncommon seriousness in the depths of his eyes. "Okay Castle. "Whatever you want."

Castle hung his coat in the front closet, next to the one he had taken from Beckett as she waited behind him. "We're back Castle. What did you want to talk about?"

Castle cupped her cheek. "Our wedding. I was thinking about it when I thought we were going to become splatters on the pavement. Then at the party I heard Ryan talking to Javi about his wedding to Jenny. You know, we haven't even set a date yet."

"You want to do that?" Beckett asked.

"No, yes," Castle stammered. "I checked on what Bob said about social media while we were at the party. There is no way the whole world won't know about our engagement anymore. So I do want to set a date; people are going to ask. But there's a lot more to it. Ryan and Jenny can't afford the kind of wedding they want, the kind they need. I thought if we doubled with them I could pick up most of the cost. We have a lot of the same friends. It would be nice, and it would solve their problem."

"But Castle, Ryan, he..."

"Shot me?" Castle finished. "C'mon Kate, we've both forgiven him for that, Besides, if he hadn't, you and I might not even be together. So really, I owe him, we owe him - a lot."

"You really want to do this?" Beckett questioned.

"I do,"Castle affirmed.

Beckett shook her head in wonder. "You really are an amazing man. Alright, if it's okay with Ryan and Jenny, a double wedding is okay with me."

"You know," Castle murmured, pulling her against him, "You're pretty amazing yourself."


	35. Chapter 35

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 35

Castle drank greedily from his extra strong coffee as he and Beckett sat over a very early breakfast with Jenny and Ryan. "It was really nice of you to invite us to go to breakfast before work, Rick," Jenny said, cutting off a small bite of her egg white omelet."

"Yeah," Ryan chimed in. "You said you had something you wanted to discuss?"

"Um, yes," Castle confirmed. "Kate and I were just starting on our wedding planning and since you guys are getting married too, I thought we might put our heads together. When were you two thinking about tying the knot?"

Lines of confusion formed across Ryan's forehead. "We were thinking sometime around Christmas, but Castle, you've been married twice before, why would you need any ideas about a wedding?"

"Right," Castle agreed, "uh..."

Beckett jumped in. "Castle thought, we actually thought, that after everything that's happened, we could do it together."

"Together?" Jenny asked.

"Well you know," Castle explained, "a double wedding. Two brides, two grooms, one church, one reception."

"Jenny," Beckett interrupted, making a show of squirming uncomfortably. "My hair just caught in the zipper of my top. Could you go to the ladies room with me and get it loose?"

"Of course, Kate," Jenny responded, unsure of what was going on.

"We should probably wait till they come back to talk any more about weddings. Women never want to go to the bathroom alone do they?" Castle mused after Beckett and Jenny had left the table. "When we're out to dinner my mother and daughter go together all the time."

"My sisters too," Ryan agreed, feeling more solid ground. "You ever wonder what they talk about in there?"

"I'm pretty sure they talk about us," Castle offered.

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"So where's your hair caught?" Jenny asked Beckett.

"Jenny, it's not," Beckett confessed. "I just wanted to talk to you before Castle fumbles this completely. Castle overheard Ryan talking to Espo about how you two have a problem affording your wedding."

"And he wants to bail us out?" Jenny finished, astonished.

"Yeah he does. The thing is, we don't want to hurt your feelings, or Kevin's, and you know Castle. He's a bull in a china shop. He'll willingly pay for anything he breaks, but still."

"Well I think it's sweet and I'm grateful. We really don't need to start our marriage swimming in debt or with most of both of our families upset with us. But you're right, Kevin does have his pride, even though he doesn't strut like Javi does. We need to get back to the table before they both trip over their tongues."

Jenny slid in beside Ryan as Beckett returned to Castle. "So, Kate and I have been talking and she has some great ideas."

"You want to do this Jenny?" Ryan asked in surprise.

Jenny grabbed his hand in both of hers. "Kevin, I think it will be great and we have time to work out the details, but I have to get to work. Buyers have a meeting with the manager before the store opens this morning."

"I'll drive you," Ryan offered. "I still have an hour before I'm due at the precinct."

"Great," Jenny agreed.

"See you later," Ryan told Beckett and Castle.

Castle extended his fingers for Ryan to feed the birds. "Later."

"That was a lot easier than I thought it would be," Castle commented, staring after the departing couple.

Beckett sipped at her now barely warm latte. "Castle, I have a feeling this is just the first hurdle."

"Hey, Jenny isn't the only one with a meeting this morning," Castle recalled. "I need to go by Black Pawn to look at cover art for the Derrick Storm graphic novel. You want to come and look with me?"

"Castle, I'd love to see it, but this is my day to go rattle Lockwood's cage at Rikers," Beckett reminded him. "See you later?"

Castle's face lost its enthusiastic glow. "Oh. I know I can't talk you out of it, but don't let him get to you, okay?"

Beckett quickly touched her lips to his. "The point is for me to get to him. I'll be fine."

* * *

><p>"Detective Beckett," Officer Ryker greeted Beckett, "what can I get for you this morning? We have a special on serial arsonists, or maybe for a real change of pace, a nice polygamist?"<p>

Beckett laughed. "I think I'll stick with my usual."

Fidgeting, Ryker returned her smile. "Excellent choice, Madam. I'll have him brought down."

Ryker spoke into a radio. "I've got a visitor for John Doe, aka Lockwood, ad sig 34617. What? Where is he?"

"What's wrong?" Beckett inquired anxiously.

"Lockwood's been transferred into the general prison population. They're going to have to look for him. It may take a little while."

"Oh no!" Beckett exclaimed.

"What's the matter" Ryker asked, shifting uncomfortably. "Tight schedule?"

"No!" Beckett grabbed Ryker's shoulder. "Look, Lockwood was in segregation for a good reason. He's taking people out who have knowledge of a crime. There's a prisoner named McCallister. We need to get to him. Now!"

* * *

><p>McCallister looked into the icy blue eyes of the man standing in the doorway of his cell holding a knife. "I was wondering when you'd come for me," he admitted resignedly.<p>

"It's okay if you need a minute," Lockwood allowed.

McCallister lay down on his bunk with a bible in his hands. "Just don't make a mess of it, okay."

"I never do," Lockwood assured him. Lockwood carefully covered McCallister's face with a white handkerchief and unflinchingly slit his throat. Chest heaving from a desperate run through the prison, Beckett arrived just in time to see Lockwood holding the dripping blade.

* * *

><p>Castle met Beckett as she stepped off the elevator in the precinct and wrapped his arms around her. "Are you all right?"<p>

"Why wouldn't I be?" Kate asked, pulling away.

"Lockwood kills Raglan then he shanks McCallister, both cops who knew something about your mother's murder. He's cutting off all avenues of investigation," Castle concluded.

Beckett shook her head. "Castle, he's not cutting them off, he's giving me new ones. I've been going to that prison every week to have a staring contest with the devil and the devil just blinked. This is exactly what I've been looking for."

"Yo!" Esposito yelled across the bullpen. "I've been running down how Lockwood got into the general population. Department of Corrections says the signature on the transfer papers was forged."

"And the only people with access to those documents are correctional officers and authorized clerical staff," Ryan added.

"That means bribe or blackmail," Beckett declared. "I want a full financial workup of every employee at that prison, sworn or civilian. I want to know who was in trouble with their mortgage and who was behind on their child support. Somebody took a hell of a risk cutting Lockwood that transfer and I want to know who was that desperate. See," Beckett informed Castle, "now I've got a lead."

Castle caught hold of Beckett's hand. "Kate, you know you're not doing this alone, right? Ryan, Esposito, the whole bullpen, and especially me, we're all here for you."

Beckett squeezed Castle's hand before letting go. "I know that, Castle, but I'm fine."

Unconvinced, Castle gazed after Beckett as she strode stiff-shouldered to her desk. He could feel the cracks in Beckett's wall he'd worked so hard to wedge open, filling with fresh mortar.


	36. Chapter 36

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 36

"Beckett, what are we doing here?" Castle asked as they took their seats in the back of the courtroom.

Beckett stared resolutely at Lockwood's entrance in chains. "I want to rattle his cage."

"Lockwood doesn't seem like the cage rattling type," Castle opined.

"No, not Lockwood, whatever bastard is holding his leash." Beckett scanned the courtroom, unease pressing furrows into her forehead.

"What's the matter?" Castle asked.

Beckett strained to understand what unconscious signal had set off alarm bells in her brain. "The insignia on those cops, they're chrome. The NYPD uses brass. Castle down!" Beckett pushed Castle to the floor, shielding him with her body as a flash bombs rolled down the aisle, exploding in bright cacophony. To Castle, the courtroom was a mass of blurred images and echos. He could barely make out blurry figures making an escape from the room as Beckett's anxious query penetrated the haze. "Castle are you all right?"

"Yes, go!" He shouted, barely hearing his own voice.

Beckett paused for a moment, running her hands over Castle's body, checking for blood or protruding bones. Satisfying herself he was in no immediate peril, she charged through the courtroom doors. She found Lockwood's discarded handcuffs and a woman, apparently unhurt, lying on the floor. "Which way?" Beckett asked.

The woman pointed. "Down there."

Beckett rushed down the stairs and out of the building to see Lockwood being loaded aboard a helicopter. "You can't hide from me, Lockwood," she shouted over the noise of the rotors, bringing up her gun.

Lockwood's taunt reached her ears above the din. "You've got it ass backwards sweetheart, you can't hide from me." The door slammed shut and the 'copter rose as Beckett's bullets perforated the fuselage.

* * *

><p>Beckett stood stiffly at the murder board, her fingers painfully tight around a dry marker. "Where are we on the guys who grabbed Lockwood?"<p>

"Nowhere," Esposito replied in disgust. "Courtroom personnel are so used to seeing cops, they didn't give them a second look, but they didn't seem to care if they were caught on surveillance. Zero hits on the FBI facial recognition data base. The guys are ghosts."

"How about the chopper?" Beckett asked.

Montgomery left his office to join the detectives. "FAA says they flew beneath the thousand foot radar ceiling. They had to know we'd have every unit in the air looking for them. They'd want to ditch their copter as soon as possible."

"We have locals checking all the local airfields," Esposito added. "So far, no hits.

"Hey Beckett, got something!" Ryan called from his desk. "I just sent it to you."

Beckett hunched over her computer with Castle leaning in from his desk-side chair and Ryan, Esposito, and Montgomery clustered behind them. "Phone calls from the prison are recorded and prisoners have to make them collect," Ryan explained. "Lockwood made weekly calls to the same number but the charges were declined until four days ago. Listen."

Beckett hit the button on her mouse. "How's the family?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Same," Lockwood replied tersely.

"How are Charlie and Mike?" the voice continued.

"Good," Lockwood responded.

"Anything on the number?" Castle asked.

Ryan shook his head in frustration."Burner cell, untraceable."

"Check known associates named Charlie and Mike," Beckett ordered.

"Uh, uh," Esposito interjected. "Beckett, they're not talking about people. That's military jargon, phonetic alphabet. Charlie and Mike means continue mission."

"Well we know the mission wasn't McCallister," Castle offered. "Anyone in the prison population could have been paid off to kill him. Having Lockwood do it was just a means for him to make his escape. So who's left?"

"Me," Beckett hissed through gritted teeth.

"Whoa, whoa, Beckett, you don't know that." Castle laid his hand on her shoulder.

Beckett turned to face Castle, her face a stiff mask. "Yes, I do. Lockwood told me I couldn't hide from him. I'm next."

"No," Montgomery protested. "They could have killed you in the courtroom or at the helicopter. You're no threat to them. You don't know anything."

Castle held on with desperate enthusiasm to what Montgomery had said. "Beckett, the captain is right. I think I know whom he's after." Castle strode quickly back to the murder board. "All of this stems from the framing of Pulgatti for your mother's murder. Raglan, McCallister, one of them either did it, or knew who did. Your mother and her associates, they were investigating it. There's just one loose end." Castle drew a square on the board next to pictures of Raglan and McAllister. "The third cop."

Slightly more animated, Beckett joined Castle at the board. "That would make him Lockwood's next target." Beckett excused herself to answer her phone.

Montgomery leaned in to speak with whispered intensity to Ryan and Esposito. "You guys track Lockwood down, and like when Raglan was taken out, if you get a shot, take it. That bastard doesn't need to see the inside of another courtroom. You read me?"

"Loud and clear, Captain," Esposito acknowledged.

Beckett returned to the board. "That was the New Jersey State police. They found the chopper."

* * *

><p>Beckett's fingers were uncharacteristically tight on the wheel as she drove over the bridge to New Jersey. "Kate are you all right?" Castle asked.<p>

"Castle, stop asking me that!" Kate snapped. "I'm fine!"

"No you're not or you wouldn't be yelling at me," Castle returned. "You might tease me or make a sarcastic comment, but not this. You're scared, Kate, and there's nothing wrong with that. If anything, it's healthy. Lockwood is a stone killer and whoever's behind him is worse. Please. Let me in."

"Castle!" Beckett exploded. "Did you ever think that he might not just be after the third cop, or me? He might be after you. You broke his face. You kept him from killing me and you kept him from completing his assignment. Damn straight I'm scared. I'm scared of getting killed but I'm more scared of losing you. We have to get Lockwood and his boss before they get us."

Air whistled through Castle's pursed lips. "Kate, I had no idea what was tearing at you. It's going to be okay. You'll see." He reached over to place a comforting hand on her thigh. "We will get Lockwood and we'll find the person who let him out of his cage. We have to. Otherwise Ryan and Jenny won't be able to afford their wedding."

"Castle!" Twitching lips morphed into helpless laughter until Beckett could barely drive with the tears streaming from her eyes. She sniffed as she reached the off ramp, swiping her sleeve across her face. "I love you so much. This is why I love you."

"I know," Castle replied feigning smugness. "We can talk more, or," he suggested, wiggling his eyebrows, "do more, about that later. Let's go bag the bad guys."


	37. Chapter 37

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 37

Castle stuck his finger in a bullet hole. "Yours?" he asked Beckett.

Beckett stared at the escape helicopter. "Yeah. Wish I could have hit the bastard."

"You don't know that you didn't," Castle pointed out hopefully.

"And I won't," Beckett declared grimly. "Smell that? Bleach. They removed any DNA evidence. You guys get anything?" she inquired of the approaching Ryan and Esposito.

"Mechanic says the chopper must have been stolen and returned before anyone knew it was missing," Ryan reported.

"He says he wouldn't even have known that anyone had used it if it weren't for the bullet holes," Esposito added.

"Huh! I guess the owner wasn't using it," Castle surmised. "Whom does it belong to?"

"Hedge fund manager from upstate." Ryan pulled his jacket tight against the wind blowing through the open hangar door. "Lucky guy is sailing in the Caribbean with his family."

"Okay, check his background, and the mechanics, and anyone else who works here," Beckett ordered briskly. "Maybe there's a connection somewhere. And I saw a surveillance camera outside. Pull the footage. Look for a vehicle. Maybe you can put out an APB."

"Right," Esposito agreed.

"You know Castle," Beckett fretted as they returned to her unit, "there is something I just can't get a handle on. Lockwood was in prison for months. Why wait 'til now to break him out?"

"Well they had him transferred. They broke him out of the courtroom. That takes time, planning, resources," Castle posited.

"A lot of resources," Beckett agreed, "especially to use people who weren't in the system. Shooters like that would be hard to come by. But I just have a feeling there was something else."

"Your unerring gut?" Castle asked.

Passing an unconscious hand over her abdomen, Beckett nodded.

"You'll figure it out," Castle promised, as his cell rang. Silently, he showed Becket the caller ID, her father.

"Why would my father be calling you?" she wondered.

"I'll find out." Castle accepted the call, giving his assent several times but otherwise listening silently.

"What did he want?" Beckett asked.

"He's worried about you," Castle confided. "He heard about Lockwood's escape on the news. Your father's no fool, Kate. He understands the implications. He knows this business took your mother. He doesn't want it to take you too. I'm certainly with him on that."

Beckett drew her lip between her teeth. "Yeah Castle, I know."

"Kate, it's going to be a while before all the information comes through. You should get some rest. We both should." Castle counseled.

"Castle, I've been thinking about that. If we're at the loft and Lockwood comes after us, Alexis and Martha will be in the line of fire. Maybe we should stay at my place," Beckett pondered.

"Then what's to keep Lockwood from coming after them to get at me, or to use me to get at you?" Castle argued. "If we're at the loft, at least we only have to worry about defending one front. I could even hire some private security."

"Castle, I hate to admit it, but that might not be a bad idea. We don't know how wide the reach of the guy behind all of this is. He may even have people in the department. We don't know who we can trust," Beckett realized regretfully.

"I know a guy," Castle informed her.

"The corners of her mouth quirked as she shook her head. "You always do."

* * *

><p>George Lufkin didn't look imposing. In fact, in a room full of people he would be the last to catch anyone's eye. He was of average height and average weight with unremarkable brown hair and brown eyes hidden behind tortoise shell glasses. A close look in those eyes, however, would reveal a blazing intelligence. He sat with Castle and Beckett at the table in the loft going over plans of the building. "It shouldn't be too difficult to secure the place. Being on an upper floor helps somewhat, although I'll have to have someone watch the roof. There's already surveillance on both outside doors and through the garage. We can tap into that. We can put a pinhole camera at the loft door and I can put people on the two of you whenever you leave, as well as on Alexis and Martha."<p>

"I don't want to scare them anymore than I have to," Castle cautioned.

Lufkin nodded. "We'll be discreet. Most of my people are no more noticeable than I am, unless they want to be. Your mother and your daughter will never know they're there."

"I don't want the department to know that you have people on me and Castle either," Beckett put in. "You think you can go unnoticed by cops?"

Lufkin chuckled. "You'd be amazed how often we do. Consciously or unconsciously, your people are trained to look for signs of a threat. My people don't put out any. That's what I hire for and that's what I train them for. They look like ordinary, slightly boring people going about their ordinary slightly boring days, but they all have at least one black belt, most of them more than one."

Castle's eyes sparkled as a notion took him. "You guys would make a great book, a deadly force that hides in plain sight!"

"Rick, I've enjoyed being your consultant on unusual surveillance methods, but please don't use me or any of my people as models for characters in your books," Lufkin urged. "We live by our anonymity. Don't blow it."

"He won't," Beckett replied, throwing a warning look at Castle. "I'll make sure of it."

Lufkin grinned, bringing an unexpected charm to his plain face. "I'm sure you will. We'll be set up in a couple of hours. I think you finally picked the right woman this time, Rick." Lufkin stood, offering his hand.

Castle rose, clasping George's hand firmly. "I know I have, and the right security guy too. Thanks George."

As Castle locked the door behind Lufkin, Beckett ran her fingers over the handle of her gun, then pulled her backup from her ankle holster and handed it to Castle. "You're giving me your gun?" Castle asked, brows rising in astonishment.

"Don't get too excited, Castle," Beckett cautioned, "just for the next couple of hours. Once George is set up, I'm taking it back. But then, when we're tucked in tight," she teased, her fingers dancing below his belt "we might try having you fire something else."

Castle groaned. "This is going to be a long two hours."

Beckett lightly brushed her lips against his. "I promise, I'll make it worth your while."


	38. Chapter 38

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 38

Castle awoke to to the aromatic siren call of coffee and found Beckett at the kitchen counter pouring two cups. She handed him the warm stimulation of the ceramic encased dark liquid. "How did you sleep?" Castle asked.

"Better than I would have thought under the circumstances," Beckett replied, catching the smug grin peeking over the lip of Castle's mug. "Yes, that was a lot of it," she admitted, "but it was good to know that George's people were out there too, watching all our backs."

"Well hopefully we won't need them long. Have you heard anything from the precinct?"

"Got a text from Ryan. He and Espo went in early to go over the financials from the prison. He might have something by the time we get there. We should get moving."

"Right," Castle agreed.

* * *

><p>Ryan approached Beckett even before she and Castle reached her desk. "So we ran financials on everyone associated with the prison: guards, civilian staff, medical personnel."<p>

Joining them, Esposito handed Beckett a folder. "We found a guard named Ryker. He's underwater in his mortgage, maxed out his credit cards, and about to lose his condo."

Beckett's mouth fell open. "Ryker? I know Ryker!"

Esposito shook his head. "You only thought you knew Ryker. The day before Lockwood was transferred to the general prison population Ryker received a fifty thousand dollar wire transfer. And guess who didn't show up for work today?"

* * *

><p>Ryker's door splintered under the impact of Esposito's kick. Guns raised, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito made their way into the condo, loudly announcing NYPD presence as Castle followed closely behind. Beckett spotted the back of a figure, sitting in a recliner. "Show us your hands, Ryker," she commanded.<p>

"Show us your hands," Esposito repeated harshly.

Seeing no movement, Beckett cautiously made her way around the chair. With a gaping hole in the center of his forehead, Ryker would never raise his hands again.

Beckett secured her newest homicide scene as Lanie Parrish arrived. "The bullet entered through the back of the head, exited through the front and landed in the cabinet," Lanie reported. "I'm making time of death around nine o'clock last night."

Castle held Ryker's cell phone in a gloved hand. "Ryker made four calls to the same burner Lockwood called from prison."

Beckett sighed. "He was negotiating prices. Poor S.O.B. Had no idea who he was dealing with."

"We still don't either," Castle reminded her.

"That was the DOJ," Ryan announced, lowering his own phone. "The fifty thousand deposit bounced through the United Arab Emirates before ending up in Ryker's account. It came from a Dubai branch of a Swiss bank."

Castle pulled off his gloves with a loud snap. "Who the hell are these guys!"

"Whoever they are, they've been two steps ahead of us the whole time," Beckett pronounced grimly. "It's time to get ahead of them. If we want to catch these bastards, we're going to have to bring the fight to their doorstep. Notify Ryker's next of kin, then dig into every aspect of his sorry existence. Talk to his neighbors again. See if anyone new came around. Castle and I will go back to the prison and see what we can dig up."

Beckett glanced in her rear view mirror more often than usual on the drive to Rikers. "Do you think George really has someone on us?" she wondered. "I don't spot anyone."

"Isn't that the idea?" Castle asked. "I'll text him and find out," Castle offered, already pulling out his phone. Castle watched his screen for a reply. "George says it's a Fusion, green."

Beckett looked in her mirror again. "Wow, there are three Fusion's back there. It must be one of the most common cars in the city. One of them looks green. It's unwashed, kind of blends in with the scenery. Your guys are good."

Castle put a quick hand on her knee. "Glad you approve."

"Officer Haskell," Beckett inquired as they spoke over soft drinks in the guard's break room at Rikers, "how long did you know Ryker?"

Haskell closed his eyes, trying to remember. "Since he came to the prison. Almost ten years I guess."

"Was he having trouble with anyone here?" Castle asked.

Haskell shook his head. "Ryker was stainless. All the other corrections officers liked him. Even the cons respected him because he treated them with respect."

"Anyone new in his life, maybe a girlfriend?" Beckett questioned.

Haskell swallowed, glancing quickly at Castle before returning his gaze to Beckett. "No one. To tell the truth, Detective, until he found out that you and Mr. Castle are engaged, he was working up the nerve to ask you out."

Castle cleared his throat. "Uh, did you know that Ryker was having financial problems?"

"I'm actually surprised to hear it," Haskell responded. "He never said a word to me about it and as far as I know, I was closer to him than anyone."

Beckett pushed out of her chair, with Castle following suit. She extended a card. "Thank you for your time, Officer Haskell. If you think of anything else, please give me a call."

* * *

><p>"Anything?" Beckett asked as she stared at the frustratingly uninformative murder board.<p>

"Everyone one we talked to said the same thing," Ryan reported. "Ryker was a stand up guy. No one knew he was in trouble, not even his family."

"We got a Blue Malibu off the footage from the airport," Esposito added,"but the plate was blacked out."

Beckett slammed a marker on the ridge below the board. "Damn it! We're nowhere. All we've got is dead ends!"

Castle put a hand on her shoulder. "You know, whoever planned Lockwood's escape knew they would need someone on the inside. If everyone thought Ryker was such a straight arrow, how would they know to approach him?"

"He was a soft target because of his financial problems," Esposito replied dismissively.

"But how would they know that?" Castle persisted.

Beckett's eyes lit with realization. "They had access to the same records we did! That means a cop or someone who has an in with cops."

"Beckett, we want this as much as you do. But we've been through all the records on cops having anything to do with this case," Ryan protested. "We checked and rechecked, months ago. There's nothing there."

Beckett turned to him, anger radiating from her body in palpable waves. "No one wants this as much as I do. No one. So recheck, and when you've finished that, check again!"

As the detectives in the bullpen pretended to ignore Beckett's outburst, Montgomery emerged from his office. "Beckett," he hissed, motioning her inside. Castle followed, without Montgomery attempting to stop him. Montgomery handed Beckett a flask. "Look, Kate, I think they heard you at 1PP. You're losing control and I can't have that. I need you to go home. Let the boys work on this for a while."

"Sir, I can do this," Beckett protested.

"No you can't, not right now," Montgomery told her.

"Kate," Castle interjected, looking toward Montgomery for confirmation, "I'll stay with the guys. I'll let you know if we find anything, anything at all." Montgomery nodded his agreement.

"I guess I don't have a choice," Beckett responded.

"No - you don't," Montgomery agreed. "You settle down, maybe get a new perspective, you can come back."

Castle put an arm around Beckett's shoulders, guiding her out of the office. "Kate, I promise. We'll go through every file, every scrap of paper. If there's anything to find, we will find it. George's guy will follow you to the loft and I'll be here with Ryan and Espo. Everything will be fine."

"You'll call me," Beckett reiterated.

Castle drew her to him, kissing her hair. "The nanosecond we find a thing."


	39. Chapter 39

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 39

Castle scrubbed a forearm across his eyes and stared again at the piles of paper on the conference room table. With his speed reading skills, his progress was considerably faster than that of Ryan or Esposito, but the task was still daunting. He glanced at the ring his coffee cup had accidentally left on a report. Something looked off. Using the magnification app on his phone, he carefully examined the slightly damp paper. "This report has been altered."

"How can you tell?" Ryan asked.

"Because I know typewriters," Castle explained. "Older typewriters use a cloth ribbon. If you look carefully you can see the striations. Someone whited out the name of the assisting officer on this report, photocopied it and then typed in the name Napolitano. It's literally a cover-up. Who is Napolitano?"

"Detective, worked with Raglan on a couple of drug busts, but was at his daughter's wedding the night Bob Armen was shot," Ryan explained. "He died of heart failure in 1993."

"So he couldn't have been the third cop," Castle mused, "But someone tried to make it look as if he was. It had to be someone with access to these records." Castle snapped a picture of the document with his phone.

"What are you doing?" Esposito asked.

"Documents have a way of disappearing in this case," Castle noted. "I'm sending it to both of you. That way we'll all have it."

"Let's show Cap," Esposito suggested.

"Go ahead," Castle urged. "I need to call Beckett. Actually, I think I should go be with her at the loft, if you guys can trace down who had access to those records."

"You should, bro," Esposito agreed.

"Yeah," Ryan chimed in. "We'll let you and Beckett know what we find."

"Son of a bitch!" Montgomery exclaimed, looking at the documents Ryan and Esposito brought.

"We found three reports where Napolitano's name was added," Ryan informed him. "It had to have been done after Bob Armen's murder but before we went digital."

"That was over ten years ago," Montgomery pointed out. "You're talking thousands of officers walking in and out of that records room."

"Yeah," Esposito agreed, "but whoever altered those records would have had to go retrieve them, and then return them. There should have been a record."

"We thought we'd find out who had charge of the records room back then, someone who might have looked the other way," Ryan said.

"Uh huh," Montgomery agreed distractedly. "You go ahead."

* * *

><p>Putting her arms around Castle's neck, Beckett pressed her lips to his enthusiastically as he came through the door of the loft. "Not that I'm protesting, but what was that for?" he asked.<p>

"For finding the clue!" she exclaimed. "After all the times Ryan and Esposito went over those records, you found something they missed. You found the evidence that I'm not just chasing some ghost."

"Hey," Castle told her, "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but there's a long way to go. We still have no idea who altered those records."

Beckett kissed him again. "But at least we know where to look. Now if only Montgomery will let me back in the precinct."

"You can probably hit him up tomorrow morning," Castle suggested. "He came in while we were slogging through records this afternoon and said he'd be going home for a while around now. Evelyn and the kids are going on some kind of a trip and he wants to say goodbye. I understand. I always want to do that with Alexis too."

Beckett caressed his cheek. "I know you do. That's one of the things I love about you. Oh, and Alexis left for her sleepover, she said you knew about it."

Castle nodded. "George will have someone on her."

"And Martha is in some kind of presentation at Spago's. She said not to wait up."

Castle smiled fondly. "She'll be in her glory. That will keep another of George's operatives busy, probably most of the night. Ryan and Esposito are busy checking out who was in charge of the records room when those reports were altered. You want to have some supper while we're waiting to hear from them?"

"I don't think I can," Beckett admitted, "but you go ahead if you need something."

Castle shook his head, leading her to the couch where she could lie in the protective circle of his arms. "Right now the only thing I need is you."

"Javi, I really don't think a badge is behind this," Ryan admitted as he and Esposito examined files in the archive room. "No cop has this kind of juice."

"But bro," Esposito disagreed, "Whoever did this is probably long retired and may have made a ton of money off the racket Raglan and McCallister were running. He could be into business, politics, or anything."

Ryan held up the corner of a document. "Here's something. Mike Yanavich, Sergeant, assigned to the records room from '02 to '05. Says he ran it right up until he retired and, wait for it, he was in the same class at the academy as Raglan and McCallister."

"Maybe he's our third cop," Esposito speculated. "Where is he now?"

"Looks like he relocated to Florida after he retired," Ryan reported, "but maybe he's a snowbird and goes down there for the winter. I'm going to check DMV and see if he has an address in New York."

* * *

><p>Montgomery turned on the desk lamp in his study to see Lockwood silhouetted in the doorway holding a teddy bear."Nice family, Roy."<p>

Montgomery reached for the drawer of his desk. "Uh, uh," Lockwood cautioned, raising a gun."You can relax, they're safe, for now, but tomorrow - that depends on you. Didn't you understand the agreement? You were supposed to keep Kate Beckett on a leash. That's the deal you made with my employer. But you're not holding up your end and that's a shame because she's a lovely girl, although that writer of hers has been a pain in the ass. I'd enjoy taking him out, but my boss wanted to avoid drawing that much attention. But now he says we've reached a critical stage and you have to cap the well. Tonight you're going to get her to meet you at the hangar where you stashed the bird. I don't care how you do it, but just get her there and we'll handle the rest."

"Go to hell," Montgomery spat.

"Well then you have a decision to make, Roy," Lockwood explained matter-of-factually. "You can have Beckett, or you can have your family, but you can't have both." Montgomery leaned on his desk for support. "Look at it this way, Roy," Lockwood continued. "If you, Raglan, and McCallister hadn't sinned so spectacularly, then God wouldn't have sent a punishment like me. See you in a couple of hours, unless you'd rather never see your family again."

Lockwood put down the Teddy bear and melted out of the room. Montgomery reached for his gun to go after him, but realized that even if he took Lockwood out, someone else would complete his assignment. The devil's resources were close to unlimited. He would have to put an end to the threat and he would have to do it that night. Montgomery pulled files from his safe, shoved them in a manilla envelope, addressed it and used every stamp he had. He would have preferred to use an overnight service so that his package would arrive in the morning, but time was short and pick-up times were past, so it would do him no more good than regular mail. He could drop this envelope in a box on his way to New Jersey.

* * *

><p>Supported against Castle's chest, Beckett was startled by the buzzing of her cell. Drawing it from her pocket, she looked at the screen. "Montgomery says new evidence has come up. He wants us to meet him at the hangar where the copter Lockwood used is."<p>

"What could he possibly have out there?" Castle wondered.

"I don't know, Castle," Beckett replied, "but if he's letting me back on the case, I'm going," Beckett declared, heading for the door."

"You mean we're going," Castle corrected.


	40. Chapter 40

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 40

George Lufkin picked up the call from operative Joel Bernstein. "Hey Boss, Beckett and Castle took off in her unit. They took the bridge to Jersey, but a truck jackknifed and I'm stuck."

"Okay, Lufkin acknowledged. "I've got GPS on Castle's phone. I'll get ahead of you and pick them up."

* * *

><p>"Hey Javi," Ryan called putting down his phone. Turns out Yanavich moved back to New York. I just talked to his wife. He bought a cop bar. He's there now."<p>

"Well let's move, bro," Esposito responded.

Esposito spotted the white haired man behind the bar. "Mike Yanavich?"

"Yeah, that's me," the retired cop responded.

"I'm Detective Esposito, this is Detective Ryan. Can we talk to you for a minute."

"Sure," Yanavich agreed. "You want a drink?"

Esposito ignored the offer. "You own this place?" Ryan asked, wondering if Yanavich would respond honestly.

"Free and clear," Yanavich declared proudly.

"How did you manage that on a cop's pension, if you don't mind me asking?" Esposito questioned, trying to appear casual. "I'm always looking toward the future."

"Got shot on the job. Start drawing a disability after you retire," Yanavich confided.

Ryan steered back to the case. "You worked the records room at the twelfth, right?"

Some of the friendliness left Yanavich's face. "A decade ago. So what?"

"Some records got lost, on your watch, and some got altered," Esposito informed him brusquely.

"Well I don't doubt it. I mean things weren't like they are today. We didn't make a Federal case out of everything," Yanavich replied defensively.

"You graduated from the police academy with John Raglan and Gary McCallister," Ryan stated.

"Me and forty other guys," Yanavich retorted. "Look, I read the papers. I know those two rode dirty, but I didn't have anything to do with it. I just saw them in the basement sometimes, knew them well enough to say hi, talk about baseball, maybe bitch about the ACLU. They used to drink here, a lot, before I bought the place."

"Do you know if they were tight with anyone else?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah," Yanavich recalled. "Some black kid, a rookie, used to follow them around, almost like hero worship. Got a picture of them here I think." Yanavich plucked a photograph from the montage behind the bar and handed it to Esposito. "This is him. I think his name was Montgomery."

Esposito stared in denial at the picture of Raglan, McCallister, and a young Montgomery, before tearing it in pieces and storming from the bar. Ryan ran after him. "Javi, Montgomery said he didn't know either of those guys. He lied to us! "

"How can you say that?" Esposito yelled, pushing his partner away. "He brought us into homicide." Esposito's angry fist met Ryan's jaw. "No!"

Ryan grabbed Esposito's shoulders. "Javi, you have to face it. He's been lying to us all along."

"Esposito pushed Ryan off, pinning him to a wall and raising his fist. "Go ahead and do it," Ryan told him. "It won't change anything. You know it. Montgomery was the third cop."

Esposito released Ryan and they both leaned against the wall breathing hard until Ryan exclaimed: "Beckett!"

* * *

><p>As she and Castle walked toward Montgomery, Beckett's phone showed a four word text from Ryan: "Montgomery was third cop." In the light from the hangar, she could see a gun in Mongomery's hand, Stopping in her tracks, she extended an arm to stop Castle, and pulled her own gun. "Sir, did you bring us here to kill us?"<p>

Montgomery pointed his gun at the ground. "Kate, I brought you here to save you. I just needed you to draw those guys in, then I'm going to end this."

Kate glanced back at the sound of two vehicles approaching in the distance. "Sir you can't take them on alone."

Montgomery shook his head. "I started this nineteen years ago when I killed Bob Armen. Your mother, her blood's on my hands. I never paid for that. That bill's past due now and I'm going to pay it. Castle, get her out of here!"

"No!" Beckett pleaded. "Sir I forgive you, I forgive you. Don't do this!"

"Kate, it's not in your power to forgive. We speak for the dead. That's the job. We are all they've got once the wicked rob them of their voices. You don't owe them your life, Kate, but I do. I was silent. I was silent too long. This is my spot Kate. This is where I'm making my stand, paying my debt. Protecting you is part of that. I owe it to your mother. I've sent a package to a friend, all the dirt on the man behind this. Stay out of it, Kate. You'll be safe." The approaching cars were no longer distant. "Castle! Get her out of here, now!"

"No!" Kate screamed, tears pouring down her face.

Castle wrapped his arms, long and well muscled from years of of practice with swords, around Beckett, lifting her from the ground. He carried her, struggling and protesting, through the hangar and out a door to the other side. Castle pressed her against the hood of a car, blocking her escape with his body while trying to wipe away her tears. "Kate, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You can't stop this. You can't save him. Let him save you. Let him have his redemption."

Lockwood climbed out of the first vehicle. "Where is she Roy?"

Montgomery stood defiantly. "You can't have her."

"I told you, it's her or your family," Lockwood said calmly. "Don't be stupid. You can't hide her from us, from me."

"You've got that ass backwards, boy, you can't hide from me." Montgomery's gun came up, taking out three of Lockwood's henchmen before Lockwood's bullet found Montgomery's shoulder. Lockwood stood over Montgomery, gloating. "That was foolish Roy. I'm just going to kill her anyway."

"No you're not, and he's not. I've seen to it. You're done Lockwood. We both are." Montgomery's and Lockwood's bullets crossed in flight, leaving them both motionless on the pavement.

Beckett pulled herself from beneath Castle and ran to Montgomery sobbing, as Castle ran after her. Lockwood raised himself from the ground, aiming his weapon at Castle. "Well at least I can finally take you out, asshole."

Blood bloomed on Lockwood's forehead as it met a bullet from Lufkin's gun.

Castle sank to the pavement, cradling Beckett in his arms while Lufkin checked the bodies and called the State Troopers. Finally, Castle rose to shakily grasp Lufkin's hand. "I guess it's over. It doesn't seem sufficient. Nothing would, but thank you."

* * *

><p>It was almost dawn when Ryan and Esposito joined Beckett and Castle at the loft. Beckett's voice was rough from grief, but determined. "It's over now. Roy gave his life to avenge my mother, to save me. If a word of what really happened gets out, his family will lose everything. They don't deserve that. No one outside this immediate family ever needs to know that he died as anything other than a hero." Ryan and Esposito nodded their silent assent.<p>

Ryan, Esposito, Beckett, and Castle served as pall bearers as Montgomery's funeral proceeded with full honors. The flag was presented to Evelyn Montgomery and Beckett took the podium for the eulogy. Castle, Jim Beckett, Martha, and Alexis stood watching. "Roy Montgomery taught me to be a cop. He taught me that we are bound by our choices, but we are more than our mistakes. We..."

From the corner of his eye, Castle caught a glint of light. "Kate!" he yelled, tackling her as a rifle shot cracked through the air.

Despite Esposito's efforts to push her down, Lanie Parish ran to where Beckett and Castle lay on the ground. "Are you hit? Who's hit?"

Martha, Alexis, Jim Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito anxiously occupied the waiting area at the hospital. Esposito hurried toward Lanie as she made her way down the hall and the rest of the group quickly clustered around. "I spoke to the doctors. It looks like the bullet went through Rick into Kate. It hit his side, no major organ damage but he's lost a lot of blood. It missed Kate's heart by an inch. If Castle hadn't tackled her, she'd probably be dead, but she's lost a lot of blood too. The surgeons have repaired the damage and they should both be all right in time. They're in recovery now. I saw them for a minute. They're both conscious. The hospital is going to put them in a room together. They wouldn't let go of each other in the ambulance, even when they passed out. They refuse to be separated now. Someone will come to get family when they're settled."

"We're all family," Esposito protested.

Lanie smiled for the first time that day. "The hospital may not see it that way, but yeah Javi, I know. Rick and Kate know it too."

A/N I thought about making this chapter a cliffhanger, but that would have been crueler than setting a car on fire.


	41. Chapter 41

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 41

"Take it slow," Martha cautioned, as Castle and Beckett returned to the loft.

"Mother, I don't think we're going to do it any other way," Castle observed wryly. Each step was far from effortless for him and it seemed much the same for Kate. They finally sank down, sitting hand in hand at the edge of the bed.

"You know we should switch sides," Beckett offered. "Otherwise, when we try to snuggle, we'll be pressing on each others' sore spots."

"I thought that was our M.O." Castle laughed, and then winced. "We are a pitiful pair. I guess we can sleep that way. We did it when we took a weekend in the Hamptons."

Beckett smiled, scrupulously avoiding laughing herself. "We didn't sleep much in the Hamptons, but it worked. I guess we should get out of our clothes."

Castle squeezed her hand. "Normally I'd really like the sound of that, but right now I don't have the energy. It'll be the first time since the shooting that we've been in the same bed. I'd like to just hold you for a while." Castle rose slowly, and gingerly made his way to the right side of the bed. Beckett crawled in beside him, her head against his shoulder. They were instantly asleep.

It took Castle a moment to realize that the sound of his unassigned ring tone was coming from the cell phone still in his pocket. "Mr. Castle, I'm a friend of Roy Montgomery's," came a voice he didn't recognize.

Beckett propped herself on her elbow, throwing Castle a questioning look. Castle shook his head and put the phone on speaker. "Before he died," the voice continued, "Montgomery sent me a packet of information. That information enabled me to continue a deal Roy had with the man behind the shooting of Johanna Beckett, Kate Beckett, and yourself. That deal will keep your fianceé safe, but there is one condition. She cannot continue to investigate her mother's death."

Beckett leaned forward, sound rising from her throat. Castle shook his head and put his fingers to her lips. "Mr. Castle, do you understand me?" the voice asked. "You cannot allow Detective Beckett to pursue the investigation or killers will be sent after her until she is stopped for good."

"I - I understand," Castle returned, "but can we meet? I need to know more." The call terminated.

Beckett pulled out her own cell phone. "Yeah, Ryan. Yeah, I'm okay. We're both okay, but listen. I need you to trace a call that just came into Castle's cell. You know the number. Yeah, very important. Please just do it. I'll explain later."

"Kate, what are you doing!" Castle exclaimed.

Beckett's eyes were on fire. "Castle, look, we don't know who that guy was. For all we know, he could be the man behind my mother's murder. Even if he's telling the truth, we need to find him. I need that information. I need to take that bastard down!"

Beckett's phone rang. "It's Ryan. Bad news. The phone that called Castle was a burner. There's no way to trace it."

"Damn!" Beckett exclaimed slamming her phone on the bed.

"Beckett, we can go at this another way," Castle soothed. "We can talk to Evelyn, find out if there's someone Montgomery might have entrusted secret information to."

"Castle, if we ask her that, we'll have to tell her the truth," Beckett protested. "I can't do that to her. Besides, what if that caller was or works for the killer?"

"Hey, George is already back on us. You know that. He'll have people watching. We can tell Evelyn that we're looking for clues to catch Roy's killer," Castle proposed. "That's certainly the truth, if not all of it."

Beckett chewed on her lip. "Okay Castle. Evelyn said she was going to take the kids away from the city, visit her sister for a while, but she should be back tomorrow. We can call her then."

* * *

><p>The cab bounced its way to the Montgomery house. Castle groaned. "I think I'll hire a limo service for a while, at least until I'm off the pain meds and can drive the Merc. I'm beginning to really appreciate a decent suspension." Beckett was too distracted to reply. "You okay?" Castle asked anxiously.<p>

Beckett placed a reassuring hand on his knee. "Yeah, I just want to find something out, you know?"

Castle encased her comforting hand in his own. "I know."

Evelyn Montgomery greeted them at the door. "How are you?" she asked.

"We're getting there," Beckett replied, as she and Castle took the seats Evelyn offered on the couch. "What about you? How are you and the kids doing?"

Evelyn sighed. "I was always prepared for the chance that Roy wouldn't come home one day, even though I relaxed a little when he made captain and wasn't in the field as much. But the kids, they don't really understand what happened and to tell you the truth, neither do I. What the hell was Roy doing at a hangar in New Jersey?"

Beckett began the cover story she and Castle had carefully prepared. "Evelyn, we've been on the trail of a very powerful and totally ruthless man. We believe he was behind not only the murder of my mother, but many others. That night, Roy received a call from an informant asking Roy to meet him at the hangar. He said he had information that would crack the case wide open. Roy called me and told me about the meet before he left, but he got there before I did. It was a trap. The man, whoever he is, thought Roy had gotten too close and paid the informant to lure Roy there. By the time Castle and I arrived, Roy was down. I'm so so sorry, there was nothing we could do. But we think that man believes Roy passed on some information to me. That's why he came after me as well. Roy has been pursuing the investigation for a long time, a lot of it on his own. He told me he had put together a lot of information, but I never saw it. Do you think it could be here?"

"Roy had a safe in his office. We can look," Evelyn offered.

Evelyn opened the safe and wiped her eyes. "The combination was our first date." She pulled out papers. "Birth certificates, investment statements. I'm sorry Kate. There's nothing here about a case."

"Evelyn," Castle questioned, "is there anyone Roy would have trusted with files, maybe an old friend?"

Evelyn nodded slowly. "You know there might be. There's a guy, he and Roy go way back. I only saw him at our wedding, but I think he and Roy kept in touch. He had kind a quiet power about him, like he pulled strings. From what I picked up, Roy had saved his life somehow, but Roy never told me the story. I think his name was Michael Smith."

"Do you know how to reach him?" Beckett asked.

Evelyn shook her head. "No he was Roy's friend." Evelyn opened a drawer in the desk. "This was Roy's phone. It was returned to me with Roy's effects."

"It's password protected," Castle noted.

Evelyn laughed tearily. "Yeah, the password is Dufus, it was the name of the puppy we got before we had kids."

Castle scrolled through the contacts. "No Michael Smith."

"I can look through Roy's things," Evelyn suggested. "I'll let you know if I find something, but Kate you're not back on the job yet, are you?"

"Not officially until I get a medical release. I have to do the psych thing too. But I'm not, we're not," Beckett maintained, looking at Castle, "going to let the trail go cold. So call me, anytime."

"I will," Evelyn promised. "You two take care."

Castle captured Evelyn's hands between his own. "You and the kids too."

Kate returned frustratedly with Castle to the waiting cab. "Castle, the only worse person to try to find than a Michael Smith is a John Smith." Getting ahead of Castle and grimacing at the strain on her incision, Beckett tugged open the door of the taxi and clumsily slid in.

Putting a careful arm around her, Castle sat beside her. "We're going to solve this, Kate. Whatever it takes, we're going to do it."


	42. Chapter 42

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 42

Carrying the bankers' box, Ryan shifted nervously while Esposito knocked on the door of Castle's loft. Alexis let them in, calling her father and Beckett before discreetly retiring upstairs. "Is that the stuff from Montgomery's desk?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah," Esposito replied. "We just got it out before the new captain took over the office. Victoria Gates, everyone is already calling her Iron Gates."

"Why?" Castle asked.

"She came in from Internal Affairs," Ryan explained. "She's sort of the anti-Montgomery. Real stickler for the book. She's checking that everybody either attributes their time to a case or is doing some kind of paperwork. She won't let anyone work overtime without pre-authorization. The whole place is changed. She's not even letting us work on your shooting anymore. Says there aren't any leads."

"Are there?" Beckett questioned.

Esposito shook his head. "Not that we can tell her about. The results came back on the sniper rifle we found at the cemetery. There was some DNA but there was no match in the system. Even the people who reported seeing a groundskeeper didn't give him a second look. They were too intense on the funeral. We can't tell her about Montgomery so we have to do everything on the down low."

Ryan unloaded the contents of the box on the table. "There's not much here either. There's this," he said holding up a phone, clearly not official issue. "It's locked though."

Castle held out a hand. "Let me see." He typed in Dufus.

"What are you doing Castle?" Beckett asked.

"I thought he might have given it the same password as his other phone, but it isn't. Maybe - got it!" Castle exclaimed.

"What did you do?" Beckett queried.

"I thought it might be the opposite of his other phone and I was right," Castle announced smugly. "I typed in Sufud. Only one contact here." Castle held up the screen.

"That's the number of the burner that Beckett asked me to trace!" Ryan exclaimed.

"So he may actually be Montgomery's friend," Castle concluded. "He's the one we have to find. The question is if he really is Michael Smith as Evelyn thought, or someone else. What else have we got?" The four of them sorted through the items. "A lot of this is about fishing," Castle noted. "Could Roy have confided in a fishing buddy? Maybe met with someone on a boat?"

"There's a picture of Montgomery in front of a boat," Ryan pointed out.

Castle looked at the picture. "A couple of my poker buddies have boats like that. It takes big bucks."

"You oughta know, bro," Esposito commented.

"That one would be pretty expensive even for me," Castle responded. "That's more James Patterson bucks. If that belongs to Montgomery's friend, he has a lot a resources."

Beckett ran her fingers agitatedly through her hair. "We have a lot of ifs and no facts. We need something we can track down."

Castle examined the picture of the boat with his magnifying app. "This thing is called Smoke Ender. That's a name we should be able to trace. We could also check back with Evelyn and find out who Roy might have gone sailing with and where." He stroked Beckett's arm comfortingly. "Something's bound to pop."

Ryan held up a pen. "This may help. It says Brookside Marina."

Beckett took a breath, "Thanks guys I really appreciate this."

"C'mon Beckett, you know we've got your back," Esposito said. "We'll just leave this stuff with you where Gates won't stumble over it."

"So Castle," Beckett asked after Ryan and Esposito had left. "You want boats or marinas?"

"I have another idea," Castle told her. "Raglan, McCallister, and probably even Montgomery made a lot of money with their kidnapping scheme before our Mr. Big cut himself in. There would have been thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars. I want to look at their financials and see if I can follow the money."

Beckett looked skeptical. "How are you going to do that without the resources of the NYPD? After what Ryan said about Captain Gates, you can't ask him or Esposito to help you with something that obvious."

"Ah," Castle exclaimed triumphantly, "they're not the only people who know how to do that sort of thing. George does a lot of work with skip tracing. He uses all sorts of financial data bases and he can help me get a handle on it. I'm going to call him."

"Fine," Beckett agreed. "I'll take boats and marinas. They're related anyway. Maybe one of us will hit pay dirt."

After hours hunching over her laptop, Beckett was hard pressed to decide what hurt more, her wound or the stiff muscles in her back. She looked at her father's watch. It was her own fault. She'd been due for a pain pill over an hour ago but hadn't wanted to stop working long enough to take one. She was about to give in and get up when she heard the click of an arriving email. There was a short note from Evelyn Montgomery.

_I found this in our wedding album._

_The kids showed me how to scan it and send it to you._

_This is the man I think is Michael Smith._

Beckett opened the picture and sent it to the printer in Castle's office. "What's this?" Castle asked, trudging into the room holding the picture in one hand, with his other hand on the small of his back.

"Wow," Beckett observed, "you look as tired as I feel. Evelyn just sent that. She thinks it's Michael Smith or at least Michael Smith thirty years ago."

"Well," Castle proposed, "as long as we both seem to be aging at a record rate, we might as well age him too. Send me the file. I have an app for that."

Beckett chuckled despite the soreness in her chest. "Castle, of that I have no doubt."

"Have you got anything on the boat?" Castle asked while Beckett tapped the requisite keys.

"Some," Beckett reported. "The Smoke Ender isn't owned by a Michael Smith, it's owned by a corporation, a huge law firm. Maybe they use it for cajoling witnesses to testify. It does occasionally dock at Brookside Marina but it's not there now. You?"

"Raglan, McCallister, and Montgomery all sent payments to a bank, but the records were all hard copy then. They're gone. They were stored at a warehouse in Union City that burned down. It was an accident, million to one. Bad wiring."

"Castle are you sure it was an accident?" Beckett pressed.

"There was an investigation, but the report isn't online. If you want to see it, we'll have to get someone to pull it.

"I'll call Espo in the morning," Beckett decided, "he'll find a way to sneak it past the new captain."

"Yeah, he'll probably take it as a point of pride," Castle agreed. "But other than gazing at a computerized version of the aging of Michael Smith, it looks like we're at a holding point. So how about if I rub your aches and you rub mine?"

Beckett wearily rotated her shoulders. "Castle, you're on."


	43. Chapter 43

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 43

Castle passed a magnifier over the photo of the man they were calling Michael Smith. "Beckett look at this, his watch."

"What about it?" Beckett asked.

"That's a Nautilus 3800. They were ten grand when they came out in January1981. That's the year Montgomery was married, in May 1981. How many of these could possibly have been sold in five months?"

"Castle, how do you even know that?" Beckett asked. "You were just a kid in 1981."

Castle grimaced. "I was a kid at a snobby boarding school. The father of one of the seniors gave him one. He couldn't shut up about it. I'm going to call Nautilus and see what I can find out."

Beckett's phone buzzed. Castle raised an inquiring eyebrow as she read the text. "It's from Espo. He's got the file on the warehouse fire. He and Ryan caught a murder, so he's going to drop it by on their way to the scene. What are you going tell Nautilus to get them to share their sales records?"

"What I tell everyone I'm trying to weasel information from, that I'm researching a book," Castle replied proudly. "They always think they're going to get some good PR out of it. If I can, I actually give it to them."

Beckett was making coffee for Esposito and Ryan when Castle emerged from his office. "Kate, what was the name of the law firm that owns Smoke Ender?"

"P.P.C.. Why?"

"Because ten of those watches were given to the legal team that won a P.P.C. suit against big tobacco."

"That's why the boat is named Smoke Ender," Beckett realized.

"Yes," Castle acknowledged, "but more importantly, guess what the name of a counsel on that suit was?"

"Michael Smith?"

Castle pointed at her and touched his nose.

"Beckett, we can't stay for coffee. We're not even supposed to be here," Ryan apologized.

"I've got traveling mugs," Castle proposed. "It'll only take a minute."

Beckett examined the file while Castle poured. "Wow, that warehouse burned down three weeks after my mom's murder. That can't be a coincidence."

"Only one way to find out," Castle asserted, "question the guy who wrote the report. What's his name?"

"Ron Halstead," Beckett answered.

"How you going to question him?" Esposito asked as Castle handed him his cup. "Beckett doesn't have her badge back yet and you don't have - anything."

Castle and Beckett exchanged knowing smiles "Researching a book?" Beckett asked.

Castle winked at her. "You know it."

Castle and Beckett arrived at Halstead's firehouse in the back of a limousine, making Castle's best selling writer persona even more persuasive. "Why are you interested in a warehouse fire?" Halstead asked.

"I'm looking at freaky fires," Castle explained, "ones that seem highly unlikely. That's the way this one was written up in the papers, as a million to one shot. I've got a character who's an arsonist and who fancies himself a genius for setting fires like that. There isn't any chance the fire was actually an arson, is there?"

"No way," Halstead insisted. "I checked out everything. There was nothing suspicious. No sign of an accelerant. You can write anything you want, Mr. Castle, but I assure you, it will be fiction. That fire was an accident."

"There's no way you could have missed anything, that you could have been mistaken" Beckett probed.

Halstead colored. "Absolutely not. I've been on the job for decades. If there was anything the least bit off I would have seen it and put it in my report. Now I'm sorry, I have work to do here. You need to leave."

"Well, thank you for your time, Inspector Halstead, I appreciate it," Castle interjected, holding as tightly as he could to Beckett and steering her toward the exit.

"Kate, what the hell!" Castle exclaimed as soon as they were back in the limo. "I could have asked him more questions about methods. Maybe he would have let something slip, if there was anything to slip. Now we won't get anything else except the wrath of the fire department for insulting one of their decorated heroes."

"But Castle, he was lying," Kate insisted. "That fire couldn't have been an accident."

"You don't know that," Castle argued. "One in a millions do happen or no one would ever win the lottery. Anyway, we're not going to get anything out of Halstead now, so let's just follow our other lead."

"What other lead, Castle?" Beckett asked.

"P.P.C.," Castle replied. "We know Smith worked for them. Maybe he still does. If not, we can track down where he went. A lawyer that prestigious doesn't just disappear. We find him, we find Montgomery's records and we find whoever is behind this whole thing, maybe even setting that fire."

Beckett expelled a deep breath and settled back against the soft leather seat.

Castle and Beckett combed through information on P.P.C., but found no appearance of Michael Smith more recent than ten years. They were interrupted by Martha. "Your physical therapist is here."

"You mean our physical terrorist," Castle quipped.

James Rolfson rolled his eyes. "If I had a nickel for every time someone's repeated that joke since James Brady made it - you'd still have to pay me."

"Good one James," Castle commented appreciatively. "What new tortures do you have for us today?"

"Actually, I thought I might give you a little break, put some nice warmth on those muscles before we start stretching them. I brought some heat packs."

"Could we use my Jaccuzi?" Castle proposed.

"That would work," Rolfson agreed. "You and Kate want to take turns?"

Castle looked at Kate, who raised her eyebrows and smiled saucily. "It accommodates two," he informed the therapist.

Rolfson coughed. "I'll take your word for it. Okay, you two take a few minutes to warm up and we'll do your exercises when you're ready."

Beckett relaxed against Castle as the steam rose from the swirling water. "I wish James wasn't waiting out there. This is the first time we've done this since we were shot. I forgot how good it feels."

"I forgot how good you feel," Castle murmured. "This isn't the only thing we haven't done since we were shot."

"Yeah I know Castle, I miss it too, but we haven't been cleared for that yet."

"There are other things we could do," Castle suggested.

"There are," Beckett agreed, lightly stroking his leg under the water, "but not with James waiting. What if, after he leaves, we just come back in here and play?"

Castle pressed his lips to the moist skin of Beckett's neck. "It's a date."

A/N For those not familiar with US history of the eighties, James Brady was President Ronald Reagan's press secretary who got shot in the head during Reagan's attempted assassination. Brady worked very hard to regain as much functioning as he could, with a great sense of humor, thus the jokes about physical terrorists. He also worked very hard, understandably, for gun control legislation.


	44. Chapter 44

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 44

Wrapped in thick terry robes, Castle and Beckett were relaxing on Castle's bed in warm moist euphoria when Castle's ring tone for George Lufkin sounded. "My men have spotted someone observing your loft through a scope from across the street. Stay away from the windows. I'm calling your people from the 12th."

"Castle, we need to stay down and work our way to the kitchen, Beckett urged. "That's the farthest from the windows." Hands clasped and crouching as low as they could, they made their way across the loft. "Behind the counter," Beckett rasped. As they sank to the floor, Castle remembered one of their early adventures together when he had saved the day by popping a Champagne cork. No such maneuver would work today. They would have to wait for the cavalry. He was just glad that neither Alexis nor Martha was in the loft. He drew Beckett to him as they leaned against the supporting cabinetry. Castle pulled his phone from its place in the pocket of his robe and watched the minutes tick by with agonizing slowness. Finally an all clear from George flashed on the screen.

Castle and Beckett were about to rise from cover when a knock sounded on the door. "Castle!" Beckett exclaimed.

Castle threw a restraining arm across her body."Wait. I can get the image from the door camera on my phone." Castle exhaled deeply. "It's Ryan and Esposito."

Castle went to open the door with Beckett beside him. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" he joked.

"Your guy was gone by the time we got here, but your pal George sent us pictures." Esposito displayed an image on his phone. "Asked if we could put them through facial recognition."

Castle swiped his screen. "He sent them to me too. I've never seen this guy. Have you, Kate?"

Kate stared at the images. "No."

"This is a new lead on a threat to one of our own. Even Gates should allow us to pursue it," Ryan said hopefully. "We'll let you know if anything comes up."

Beckett closed the door behind Ryan and Esposito and fell into the comforting circle of Castle's arms. "Castle, I can't just be some kind of a sitting duck and do nothing."

"Kate, we're not sitting ducks. George's people spotted the threat and it's gone, at least for now. And we're not going to do nothing. We are going to find Michael Smith and get the person behind all this." Castle looked down at their robes. "But we probably should get dressed first."

Kate couldn't restrain a giggle.

"That's West Law!" Kate exclaimed, fastening her blouse while looking over Castle's shoulder as he sat at his laptop. "How did you get into it?"

"I have a subscription, "Castle explained. "Key Law also. I can give you my sign in for that. I used both of them to research cases as background for my books and I figure if we can't find anything recent for Michael Smith under his associations with P.P.C., then maybe we can see where his name comes up on other cases and trace him that way."

"Wow, Castle, with a name like Michael Smith, that's going to be a lot of cases to look through. He may be licensed in several states too. I know my father is. We're casting a pretty wide net."

"I know," Castle agreed, "but at least there will be two of us fishing. If you've got a better idea, I'd love to hear it."

Beckett shook her head and took the sticky note Castle offered with user information.

"I think I've got something," Beckett called excitedly as Castle was providing them both with their fourth cups of coffee. "This is a case against a drug company. A Michael Smith is listed as a co-counsel for the case and the argument is almost word for word what P.P.C. used against the tobacco company: knowing the risks of a product and willfully hiding that information."

Castle pointed at the screen enthusiastically. "I remember that case! Several children were disabled for life. The award was huge. It got a ton of publicity. There should be a lot of information on Lexis Nexis. Maybe if we're lucky I can find some pictures."

Beckett smiled as she stroked his hand. "You subscribe to everything, don't you Castle?"

"Well Mother teases me about Sky Mall, but you never know what is going to come in handy. If you want to see if you can find any other cases from the same group of lawyers, I'll see what I can find on this one." Castle hurried back to his own computer, almost sloshing coffee on the floor.

"Beckett, I think he's our Michael Smith," Castle called half an hour into his search. He switched the output of his laptop to his large monitor, as Beckett came into the office. "This is a picture of a press conference the parents of one of the children gave. See the guy in the back? Are my eyes deceiving me or is he a ringer for our computer aged Smith?"

Beckett looked carefully at the screen."You're right Castle. That case was handled by the law firm of Monty and Joulson and they have their headquarters here in the city, not far from my father's office."

"Let's give them a call," Castle suggested. Castle set up an appointment with Michael Smith, Esquire for the next day for Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers, parents of a child who died as a result of fungus contaminated medication.

"Castle, I don't think I can wait for tomorrow," Beckett fretted. "maybe Espo and Ryan have something."

"Yo, Beckett, I was just going to call you," Esposito greeted her call. "There was nothing on your stalker in the FBI data base but Ryan got a buddy of his at Homeland Security to run the pictures through theirs. We got a hit. His name is Cedric Marx. He was Delta Force, black opps, but apparently he went off the rails. The army discharged him after his last tour for psychological reasons and he went to work for a contractor called Arantas Solutions under the name of Cole Maddox."

Ryan's voice continued the conversation. "Maddox has a drivers license but the address is bogus. We're checking his credit history now. If we find him, Gates is willing to go after him. She's putting a detail on you guys too. Look, we'll call if we get anything else."

"Thanks guys," Beckett told them. "You are the best."

"All part of our friendly service," Ryan quipped.

"Who are you calling, Castle?" Beckett asked as he pulled out his phone after the call ended.

"George," Castle replied grimly. "If this guy Marx or Maddox is black opps, they need to know what they're dealing with and I want him to put more operatives on us."

"Ryan said Gates put a detail on us," Beckett reminded him.

"Still," Castle insisted, putting an arm around her as he called. "I need to keep you and the rest of the family safe and I'll take all the help I can get."

Beckett sighed into his shoulder. "Okay Castle, do what you need to do."


	45. Chapter 45

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 45

Castle and Beckett were ushered through the door of Smith's office by a no nonsense assistant. Smith looked up from his desk and stared in shock. "Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle! What are you doing here? You're putting all of us in danger."

"Here's a news bulletin, Smith," Castle retorted. "The two of us are already in danger. Hell, we've both already been shot. Whomever you made your deal with had a sniper scoping out my loft yesterday. He's not keeping up his end. We need to know who is behind him so we can take him down or he will take us down and probably you too. We found you. What makes you think he can't?"

Smith sank back in his chair."I'm sure he can now. You were probably followed."

"I know we were," Beckett rejoined, "by both private security and a team from the NYPD, but if there was anyone else, I can hope they were spotted. Look, we can't keep that up indefinitely and we can't hide. Neither can you, at least not very long. Your best chance is to help us expose the boss and put an end to the threat. "

Smith sat silently considering what Beckett had said before offering his response. "Given what happened to Montgomery and what is happening to you, I don't believe I'm left with a choice." He reached behind him to a shelf of books and exposed a hidden safe. He handed a thick folder, emblazoned with the insignia of the NYPD to Beckett.

Castle looked on as Beckett opened the folder and pulled out a newspaper article on a fast rising politician. "Senator Bracken! The person behind all this is a U.S. Senator?"

Smith nodded. "He wasn't always. He was a D.A. in New York when he caught on to what Roy got into with Raglan and McCallister. He took their money and multiplied it many times to build his power base. He's smart, connected, and as far as I've seen, totally without scruples. Even with the evidence Montgomery gathered, getting Bracken will not be easy, if you can do it at all. This will be the last time you'll see me for a while. If you were seen coming here, I'm a dead man unless I disappear and that's what I intend to do. You have the file. You're on your own."

As the limo transported Castle and Beckett to the loft, she found herself continually checking behind her for Fusions and unmarked units. Upon their return, she and Castle spread out the contents of the folder on the table. "Castle I don't even know where to start."

Castle picked up a sticky note on which Montgomery had written: "Where is the tape?"

"What do you think this means?" Castle asked.

Beckett lowered her face to her palms. "I have no idea." She was startled by the buzzing of the doorbell. "Our people always knock."

Castle showed her the camera feed on his phone. An African-American woman with a NYPD captain's badge around her neck stood waiting. Castle opened the door. "I'm Victoria Gates, may I come in?"

Castle motioned her inside and she immediately homed in on the documents spread across the table. "I suspected you two were working on the case. Frankly, Detective, I didn't see how you could leave it alone."

"Ma'am?" Beckett asked, confused.

"If you see my mother you can call her Ma'am, you can call me captain or sir," Gates instructed. "I've checked you out, Beckett. Youngest woman ever to make detective. Beat me by six weeks."

"I didn't know anyone was keeping score - Sir," Beckett replied.

Gates shook her head. "Everyone keeps score, especially at 1PP, but that's not why I'm here. Detective, I know you've been talking to your buddies, Ryan and Esposito, and I'm sure they've told you what they say about me at the precinct. That I'm from Internal Affairs. That I hate cops. But the truth is I love cops. My daddy was a cop, my uncles were cops. What I hate is cops who drag us all into the dirt. There was one like that that who thought he could rape my partner and get away with it. There were other cops, Raglan, McCallister, and I think you know who else. There were rumors in Internal Affairs, but nothing solid and I have no interest in sullying anyone's memory by bringing them up now. But if there is someone out there who is shooting at one of mine because of what some dirty cops did, I want to know. I need to know and you need me to know. Otherwise I can't protect you."

Beckett motioned for Gates to sit at the table. "Yes sir, but I'm afraid this goes way beyond dirty cops."

Gates studied the documents spread out in front of her. "You really have stumbled into a hornets nest, haven't you Detective?"

"Yes Sir," Beckett agreed.

"It looks like most of this is way beyond the statute of limitations. You could ruin Bracken politically by releasing it, but you wouldn't put him away. He could still send people after you. Mr. Castle, I understand the two of you are engaged."

"Yes Ma'am - uh, sir- Captain."

"I'll tell you right now, I don't put much store into a dilettante writer trying to play cop. Other than trying, unsuccessfully, to act as a human bulletproof vest and hiring your own little army, how do you figure into this?" Gates asked brusquely.

Putting an arm around Beckett's shoulders while gazing directly at Gates, Castle gave his unconditional answer. "Any way that Detective Beckett needs me to."

"I'm going to hold you to that," Mr. Castle, Gates assured him. "Now, it would seem to me that the first order of business is capturing this Cole Maddox character. He may provide the link we need to Bracken. Ryan is looking for activity on his credits cards but so far none has shown up."

"He's probably using another alias," Castle suggested.

"Yes, Mr. Castle," Gates returned dismissively, "that had occurred to me. Now Detective, I know you're not cleared for duty yet and you may not even be up to this, but it would seem to me you're the only way we have to draw Maddox out."

Castle rode angrily from his chair. "Now wait a minute, if you think Kate is stepping into the cross hairs...!"

Beckett laid a hand on his arm. "Castle, hear the captain out."

Gates continued. "What I'm proposing, Mr. Castle, is making Maddox think he is after Detective Beckett, and possibly you as well. If he is spotted again around this loft, you two can pretend to be leaving but we'll have decoys posing as the two of you get into one of your fancy limousines. We'll pull back the security detail and see if he takes the bait."

"You're asking me to put one, maybe two other cops in danger?" Beckett asked. "I won't do that. The bastard is after me. I'm not going to let some other cop take the hit."

Castle's eyes lit with sudden realization. "What if we get him to go after an empty car?"

"Castle, what are you talking about?" Beckett asked.

"A Google car, or there are other companies that have self driving prototypes. I'll have to see what I can arrange. We put out a story that best selling author Richard Castle and his fianceé are going to take a test ride in one of the cars for a feature I'm writing. It would have to be in a private area. We won't endanger anyone on a public road. We'd have to pick somewhere Maddox would think he'd have enough cover, but we'd know where he'd hide. Esposito could help with that. Beckett and I go into a garage or something to get into the car, but when it comes out, we're not in it. It can have dummies in it with our clothes. Then Maddox tries to shoot us and bam said the lady! You nab him."

Gates snorted. "Mr. Castle, that sounds like a scenario for one of your fantasies, but I hardly see how it would work in the real world. An empty car? Really?"

"Captain, just give me some time to see what I can do. I can dangle the publicity as a lure and we can get a car. If we succeed, I can really write the feature. My fans will love it! While I check it out, Detective Beckett and I will be behind Castle walls. This can work."

Gates shook her head. "All right, Mr. Castle. It sounds like a harebrained idea to me, but the mayor tells me that your harebrained ideas have been known to work. So I'll give you a chance. Let me know - soon - if you actually come up with something real."

"Castle," Beckett asked, after Gates left, "do you really think you can make your plan work?"

Castle pushed the hair back from her face, caressing her cheekbone with his thumb. "Kate, I think I have to."


	46. Chapter 46

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 46

"Kate, I told Gates we'd be staying behind Castle walls until everything was set up. The press release hasn't even hit the wire yet."

"Castle, if we don't go see Dr. Levine then we can't..."

"Yeah I know," Castle acknowledged, "and I want to. I really, really want to it's just, I don't want to you take a chance when we're so close. What ever happened to house calls, anyway?"

"Castle, if you remember house calls, you're a lot older than I think you are," Beckett teased.

"Well actually, my mother was seeing this doctor," Castle explained "and..."

Beckett cupped the back of Castle's neck and fitted herself to the cradle of his hips. "Never mind, we'll go see Levine," he sputtered.

* * *

><p>"George says there was no sign of Maddox, or anyone else except our protective detail," Castle reported reading a text he received as they returned to the loft.<p>

"If he doesn't turn up tomorrow, you've gone to a lot of trouble for nothing, Castle," Beckett opined.

"I just made a few phone calls," Castle contended. "You've spent a lot more time poring over that file."

"It's that note about the tape, Castle. There's something in the back of my mind about a tape, like from years ago, but I just can't seem to grasp it."

"You know," Castle murmured, running his thumb over her lips, "sometimes when you're completely distracted from something, the answer comes to you."

Beckett ran a finger into the vee of his shirt. "And are you planning to distract me, Castle?"

Castle fingered a button on her blouse. "I thought I might."

"Levine did say that we should take things slow," Beckett recalled.

"Oh," Castle drawled, "I intend to."

* * *

><p>Blissfully sated, Beckett cuddled contentedly against Castle's side. "Castle, I think it's time I got my badge back."<p>

"Moving around certainly doesn't seem to be your problem anymore," Castle agreed, "but what about psychologically? Are you ready for that Kate?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Beckett questioned, defensively.

"Kate, I remember how I was, after the first time I got shot. Jumping at every noise -or freezing. Sometimes I still do it and I've seen you do it too. You did it when a car backfired on the way back from Levine's office."

"Castle, I'm fine," Beckett assured him.

"Kate, I know you think you are, but I'm glad the department will have to hear it from Dr. Burke. It really did help me to talk to him."

"I know it did, Castle, I remember. Look, tomorrow we'll execute your scheme to trap Maddox and then I'll see Burke. With any luck he'll clear me in time to get in on the interrogation."

"Yeah," Castle smiled. "That's a face off I want to see."

Beckett laughed. "If I know you, you'll bring popcorn."

Castle shook his head. "Assuming she lets me watch at all, considering her attitude about dilettante writers, I don't think Gates would be very big on that."

"Mmm," Beckett conceded, "you're probably right, but maybe you can sneak in some JuJubes®.

* * *

><p>Inside the massive test facility, best selling writer Richard Castle and his fianceé patiently posed for pictures in front of the latest prototype of the self driving car, before it would go out on the track. Miniature cameras had been placed in clumps of trees that would provide cover at sniping distance from the track and everyone present for the test had been vetted both by the NYPD and by George Lufkin. Castle watched with mock distress as his suit was fitted over the remarkably realistic dummy. "I really like that one. I hope Maddox doesn't put holes in it. How about your outfit?"<p>

"Jenny tells me the color palette will be changing next season," Beckett joked. "No great loss."

"Hey," Ryan reported through Beckett's cell, "We have a car parking about a half mile a way. Looks like Maddox. He's headed for some of the trees we tricked out."

Castle drummed his fingers against his hip. "Looks like it's almost show time."

Esposito reported a few minutes later that Maddox had found his perch. The car was released onto the track. As Maddox concentrated on his target, teams moved in. Calculating the speed of the car, Maddox aimed ahead of it. Maddox got off a shot before the team moved in and pulled him from the tree.

"That was your last shot, dirt bag," Esposito announced. Maddox smiled defiantly.

* * *

><p>Castle sat in Burke's waiting room with mixed feelings. He knew Kate wanted to get back on the job, but he wanted to keep her safe, something he couldn't do if she was on the street. He sighed. He fell in love with a woman who kicked serious ass. She wouldn't change. Even if she didn't get past Dr. Burke this time, she would the next time, or the next. He couldn't cover her in bubble wrap, no matter how much he might want to. He hoped that if Kate was allowed to return to the precinct, he would be too. At least he'd have her back.<p>

Beckett emerged proudly holding her paperwork. "C'mon Castle, let's go see Gates."

* * *

><p>Gates handed Beckett her badge. "You know you have to re-qualify before I can return your weapon."<p>

"Yes Sir, but I was hoping to interrogate Maddox."

"Ryan and Esposito did that yesterday," Gates told her. "He didn't say a word. We're working on some kind of a deal with the D.A. to get him to flip on Bracken, then they can go at it again."

"With all respect, Sir, Ryan and Esposito are great cops, but they're not me," Beckett insisted.

"You really expect me to let you investigate your own shooting?" Gates asked. "What the hell kind of a shop was Montgomery running?"

"Sir, I'm not investigating, we already know who did it. I just have skills at interrogation," Beckett persisted.

"I can vouch for that," Castle put in.

"Mr. Castle, you can't vouch for anything," Gates returned sharply. "If it weren't for the mayor, you wouldn't be here at all."

"Sir," Beckett pointed out, "it was Castle's plan that caught Maddox. He has also been instrumental in solving a number of the most difficult cases here."

Castle looked at Beckett with a surprised smile.

"So I've been told," Gates admitted grudgingly, "but police work should be done by police. Now Detective Beckett, I will allow you to talk to Maddox - in the presence of the D.A. But if you go off the rails at all you'll be pulled out of there immediately. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Sir," Beckett agreed.

"How about me?" Castle asked.

Gates glared at him over her reading glasses. "Mr. Castle, if you behave yourself, you can watch from observation."

Castle walked beside Beckett to the elevator. "Where are we going?"

"Shooting range," Kate replied. "I'm not letting Gates hold on to my weapon a minute longer than she has to."

"Speaking of Gates, Kate, you don't usually talk about me helping you solve cases. Not that I don't appreciate my fianceé bragging about me, but why now?"

"Yeah, well, I never had to tell Montgomery or the boys; they already knew how important you are around here, even if Esposito hasn't always been ready to admit it. But Castle," Beckett continued, "if not for you, we wouldn't have the file on Bracken and we wouldn't have Maddox. You're a valuable asset here, and Gates needs to understand that, now."

Castle wiggled an eyebrow as the elevator doors closed. "So you value me as an asset, huh?"

Beckett's hand found it's way beneath the vent of his jacket. "My favorite one."


	47. Chapter 47

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 47

Beckett fired five shots in rapid succession, all hitting the center ring. "Wow, Kate, who were you shooting at?" Castle asked, "Maddox or Gates?"

"Bracken," Beckett said almost as sharply as the report of her pistol. "Maddox is just his lacky, a tool, like his rifle. A tool I'm going to break." She glanced at a text from Esposito. "They're bringing Maddox back in. I'm getting my gun back and then I'm getting in that box with him."

Gates read Beckett's paperwork and gazed with admiration at her target. She handed Beckett her gun without a word.

A.D.A. Tonia Gonzalez was determined that nothing said in the interrogation would be thrown out in court. Maddox was accompanied by a high powered attorney by the name of Bill Moss who would be monitoring every word. She just hoped that in their enthusiasm, the cops of the 12th wouldn't make a careless move. "Mr. Maddox, as I'm sure your attorney has explained, you are charged with multiple counts of attempted murder. That includes two counts for the shooting at the automotive test track. In addition, your DNA has been matched to that found on a rifle used in the shooting of Detective Beckett and Richard Castle at the funeral of Captain Roy Montgomery. Our proposition is that we will knock those charges down to one count of assault on Detective Beckett and one count of assault on Richard Castle, with minimum sentences."

Castle watched Beckett stiffen in her chair and grasp the edge of the table. "C'mon Kate," he whispered, knowing she couldn't hear him, "keep it together."

"Mr. Maddox," Tonia continued, "in return for the reduction in charges, you will reveal your employer and give a full accounting of your interactions with him."

"What about protection for my client?" Moss asked. "You are asking him to place himself in great jeopardy."

"We can segregate him from the general prison population," Tonia replied, "he'll be protected."

"Not good enough," Maddox interrupted. "I know how this works. I've seen it. You've seen it, Detective Beckett. Bribe a guard, infiltrate the civilian employees, the whole system breaks down. I'd be dead in a few weeks if not sooner. I want witness protection."

"Listen, Maddox, or should I say Cedric," Beckett interjected. "You were caught in the act by a squad of cops. You are going to prison. If you don't take the deal, you will be in the general population and shanked before breakfast. Your boss doesn't like loose ends. Refuse the deal and you die. Take it and you have a chance."

Maddox began to whisper with Moss, becoming more deflated as they spoke. Finally Moss pronounced: "My client will take the deal."

"So, Maddox, Beckett asked triumphantly, "who hired you to kill me?"

Maddox looked at Moss who nodded. "William Bracken."

"Just to be clear," Beckett pressed, "are you saying that you were hired by William H. Bracken, U.S. Senator."

"Yes," Maddox affirmed.

Beckett pushed a pad of paper and a pen toward Maddox. "Start writing, and I want every detail about every word he ever said, every text or email he ever sent, everything."

Moss nodded again and Maddox began to write.

Castle hugged Beckett as she emerged from interrogation. "You did it. Maddox will nail Bracken." Confusion stole over Castle's face. "You're not smiling. What's the matter?"

"Castle, we have the word of a killer trying to save his own ass. And all we have against Bracken are charges of conspiracy to commit murder. Even with what's in Montgomery's file, it may not be enough. I want to nail him for my mother's murder. I need to."

"So what next?" Castle asked.

Beckett shook her head. "I wish I knew."

* * *

><p>Beckett kicked the covers down as she tossed next to Castle. He was trying to re-cover them both when she opened her eyes and sat up. "Castle, I think I remember when I heard about a tape. It was when I was just a patrol officer."<p>

"When you were with Royce?" Castle inquired.

"Yes. But I spent every spare hour investigating my mother's case. I would sneak into the records room and go over and over everything about her case. One day Roy Montgomery caught me down there. I thought he was going to write me up for unauthorized activity, but he didn't. He asked me about her personal papers and asked if there were any tapes. At the time, I thought he was just being helpful, but he was probing for what I knew. He must have given the tape to my mother and he wanted to know if I found it."

"Did you find a tape?" Castle queried. "We went through all those records together and I don't remember one, or anything else we could use."

"Castle, I don't either, but we never did figure out the code she used in her private notes. We didn't know what we were looking for," Beckett replied excitedly. "Now we do. We need to go look. All that stuff is still in boxes at my place."

Castle grabbed his phone and checked the time. "Three A.M., I guess we'll give George's shadow something to do tonight."

Castle was at the wheel of his Mercedes for the short trip to Beckett's apartment. "We haven't been here for a while," he commented, pulling into a parking spot.

"Yeah," Beckett agreed, "I've been thinking of your loft as sanctuary."

"I hope it's more than that," Castle told her, as they walked to the building. "You know you can give up this place and move in completely anytime you want to. I can always have another closet built in, maybe two. One for your heels."

Beckett pressed her head against his shoulder. "Castle, I can't think about that right now."

Castle pressed a quick kiss to her hair. "Nailing Bracken first, closets later."

The sky outside the windows was beginning to lighten as Beckett checked her boxes for the third time. "Castle there's no tape and no reference to a tape. I think we're going down a blind alley."

"I'm not so sure," Castle told her, pointing to an entry in Johanna Beckett's appointment book. Look here, a capital 'M' with a slash and a small 'e.' Could that be Montgomery evidence?"

"When was that?" Beckett asked excitedly.

"It looks like it was the day before she - died."

Beckett grabbed the book. "Give 'M/e' evidence to family."

"Could she have given the tape to your father?" Castle asked.

Beckett shook her head in frustration,"I've asked him, multiple times, he says mother never gave him or even told him anything remotely relevant to her murder. She probably knew she was in danger. She would have wanted to protect him. She would have wanted to protect both of us."

Castle smiled. "Like mother, like daughter. So who else would she have considered family?"

"No one she would have been willing to endanger. Castle, I don't know." Becket slammed the appointment book on the coffee table. "I just don't know."

"Look, we should go back to the loft," Castle suggested. "You need to get ready to arrive bright and early at the precinct, now that you're back on duty. From what the boys have said, Gates watches hours like Clock King. Maybe something will come to you, like your memory about Montgomery."

Castle bought extra large coffees on the way to the 12th and Beckett gratefully acknowledged the familiar gesture. "Thanks Castle, for the coffee - and for being with me through all this."

Castle drew her close with his free arm around her waist. "Always."


	48. Chapter 48

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 48

With the case of Cedric Marx aka Cole Maddox officially closed, Beckett was required to write up her contributions ASAP, which to Captain Gates meant immediately. Beckett ran her fingers through her hair and groaned as she bent over her screen. "Having a hard time?" Castle asked.

"Castle, there's so much I want to say, that I shouldn't, that's just venting or speculation. I have to be Joe Friday."

"Just the facts Ma'am?" Castle queried.

"Yeah, and you know me. That's usually pretty much what I want to do. But not here."

"You want some help?" Castle offered. "Writing is sort of my thing." Beckett looked up at the ceiling. "What are you doing?" Castle inquired.

"Waiting for lightning to strike. You offered to help me with paperwork," Beckett teased. "It must be coming."

"Okay, you got me," Castle admitted, "and chances are if Gates saw me writing anything for you she'd have both our heads. But I can share something from my experience. When there is something that is threatening to make your head explode, even if it's not what you should be writing, write it anyway. Put it down. Get it out of your brain. Then delete it. After that you can do the real thing."

"But Castle," Beckett protested, "this is an NYPD computer. It's monitored. Even if I delete something, it can be recovered."

Castle handed her a pad and a pen. "No one's monitoring this."

Castle used the time while Beckett was writing to catch up on his tweets and his email, but eventually became bored and began to play with the things on Beckett's desk. He twiddled with one of her elephants, pretending to tickle its trunk. "Castle if you break that, there will be a serious loss of benefits."

"You know, you've never told me the story of these elephants," Castle mused. "You've always had them on your desk. Why are they so important to you?"

Beckett stared into the distance as if recalling a dream. "They belonged to my mother. Before they were on my desk, they were on hers. She used to call them a family." Beckett's eyes widened. "Castle, a family! Maybe..."

Castle handed her the largest of the figurines. "A tape might fit in here."

Beckett ran her fingers over the china. "There's a seam here. I never noticed it before. I wish I had longer fingernails."

Castle pulled a Swiss army knife out of his pocket. "I knew never missing an episode of _MacGyver_ would come in handy. Try this. He pulled out the thinnest of the blades."

Beckett carefully separated the halves, exposing a micro-cassette. "Oh Castle! We need to listen to this, but I don't think there's a player around here to do it on. It's been over a decade since anyone made tapes like this. Tech probably has something but I don't want to give it to them if we don't know what's on it."

"I used to use one of those recorders when I had an idea I couldn't write down," Castle recalled. "I think I have some of those tapes and a recorder in storage. I can go look."

"Go, Castle," Beckett urged. "Hurry!"

* * *

><p>The guard at the deluxe facility looked up from the monitors at his desk. "Mr. Castle, come to visit your comic collection?"<p>

"Just looking for a blast from my past, Jerry," Castle replied offhandedly. "Buzz me in?"

Jerry hit a button. "Sure thing."

After passing through the door next to Jerry, Castle walked down a hallway and unlocked another door. He entered a climate controlled room with large shelves bearing custom storage cases of his comics and graphic novels along with his swords and other collectables. He passed by them without a look and proceeded to another set of shelves where the boxes were plain cardboard, some slightly dented. He pulled out a box labeled "2000." Rifling through it with no luck, he tried "1999," giving a cry of triumph when he pulled out a mini-recorder. Hailing a cab, he hurried back to the 12th.

Approaching Beckett's desk, Castle pointed to the slightly bulging pocket of his jacket and gave her a thumbs up. "Castle, I'm not sure where we can use that here," Beckett whispered. "Someone might hear the wrong thing."

Castle consulted his watch. "It's almost noon. Take your lunch break. We can listen at the loft."

Castle hurriedly spread peanut butter and jelly on bread. "See you're not even lying about having lunch." The sandwiches went untouched as he and Beckett listened to the tape.

"Raglan, shut the door, you've got a lot of nerve coming here."

Beckett pushed the pause button. "Castle, I've listened to enough of him online to recognize that voice. That's Bracken. That must have been back when he was still an A.D.A.." She pushed play.

"Look, we just want to make sure we're all on the same page."

Beckett paused again. "And that was Montgomery."

"You took us for a lot of money, Bracken," Montgomery continued. "We want assurances."

"Hey, be happy I haven't busted the three of you for your little mafia extortion ring," Bracken replied.

"Whoa, relax!" Montgomery told him.

"You want assurances?" Bracken continued, "here you go. I can assure you that as easily as I pinned Bob Armen's murder on Pulgatti I can easily pin it on the three cops who did the deed."

"Pulgatti knows he's been framed. What if somebody gets on to this?" Montgomery asked.

"Then I'll handle them," Bracken answered, smugness evident in his voice.

"You? How?" Montgomery pushed.

"I know people, Roy," Bracken responded proudly, "dangerous people. Anyone gets too close like that bitch lawyer Johanna Beckett been poking around, I'll have them killed. I've done it before."

Beckett stopped the tape. "Are you all right?" Castle asked.

"Castle, Bracken just admitted to murder. This is it. This is the evidence I've been looking for ever since I've been a cop, and it's been sitting on my desk all the time. I guess I'm in shock. But now I'm not sure what to do with it. If I take it to Gates, she won't want to do it, but she'll have to. She'll expose Montgomery. Evelyn and the kids will lose his pension and everything they remember about Roy will be ruined."

"How about the Feds?" Castle suggested. "They won't care about a dead police captain. It wouldn't be worth their time. They'd go after the crooked Senator."

Beckett's brows rose."Castle, you're not suggesting I call Sorenson?"

"Beckett, not that I'm afraid of your old boyfriend, But I think there's someone better," Castle proposed. "Someone who specializes in serial killers."

"Agent Shaw?" Beckett guessed.

Castle pointed at her and touched his nose.


	49. Chapter 49

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 49

Returning to the precinct, Beckett spent the rest of the afternoon polishing her report and praying that no body would drop, so she and Castle could return to the loft. Unable to reach Agent Shaw by phone, she had sent an email, but out of caution, had not outlined any particulars. She'd requested that Shaw call that evening and was hoping that the agent would respond. When the clock finally ticked past five, she and Castle made a beeline for the elevator.

"How about if we work on dinner while we wait," Castle proposed. "We never really did get around to actually eating lunch."

Beckett waved an arm at him as she paced the floor. "You go ahead. I can't think about food right now."

Castle poured two glasses of red wine and brought one to Beckett. "Here, this might help."

Beckett smiled at him as she took the glass, but didn't drink. Castle watched her as he sliced tomatoes and tore lettuce for a salad. "You could try to call her again," he suggested.

"Why don't you try to call her, Castle? She liked you."

Castle grimaced. "Seriously Kate? Jealousy at a time like this? Anyway she twigged in about two seconds that I was in love with you. But I can try if you like."

Castle called the number and heard a ring outside the loft, followed by a knock on the door. "Your email said so little I was intrigued," Jordan Shaw told Beckett when she answered the door. "I thought we should talk in person. So what is this all about?"

"You need to listen to something first," Beckett urged."Then I'll explain."

Shaw listened carefully as Castle played the tape and asked him to play it again. "Who is that?" she asked finally.

"That," Castle announced, "is William H. Bracken, then assistant district attorney, now U.S. Senator."

Shaw breathed deeply and shook her head. "I can see why you wanted to be careful. How about the dirty cops?"

"All deceased," Beckett informed her.

"Then there is no one to confirm that it is Bracken on the tape," Shaw concluded. "The first thing we need to do is get this to the lab. We have to verify that the tape isn't the result of tampering and match a print of Bracken's voice. Have you got anything else?"

"We have the confession of a hit man Bracken hired to shoot me, who also shot Castle," Beckett told her, "and this." Beckett brought Shaw the materials Montgomery had accumulated.

Shaw examined every page, article and photo. "This is incredible!" she exclaimed. "Bracken has been lurking in the dark for two decades."

"Two decades too long," Castle commented.

"Amen to that," Shaw agreed. "Kate, the Johanna Beckett Bracken mentioned, a relative of yours?"

"My mother."

"So how are you coping with all this?" Shaw asked.

"Agent Shaw," Beckett began.

"Jordan," Shaw corrected.

"Jordan, my mother's murder is the reason I became a cop. I have been chasing her killer ever since. I need to see this through. I'll do anything it takes."

"And you, Mr. Castle?" Jordan inquired.

"Anything it takes," Castle assured her.

"Kate, I'm curious," Jordan asked, "the sparks between the two of you practically ignited the precinct, but you were absolutely determined to ignore them. After that picture of you two kissing in front of the bomb went viral, I read you were engaged. What happened?"

Beckett looked at Castle. "I realized he was my number one - with a bullet."

Jordan regarded the couple quizzically. "Someday I'm going to have to hear that story, but for now, if you're willing, I'll take the tape and see about solidifying your case."

Beckett extended the cassette. "Thanks, Jordan," she said as she walked Shaw to the door of the loft.

"No thanks necessary," Jordan assured her. "We don't need men like that running our country. It's long past time he was put away."

"So," Castle said, putting Beckett's still filled wine glass into her hand, "think you can relax a little now?"

Beckett nodded, "I can even help you make dinner, but I should call my father. He should know the truth and he should know that we're going to do something about it."

"That's a lot for a phone call," Castle opined. "If he's free, why not invite him to dinner? Alexis and Mother are on some theatrical junket tonight. It'll just be the three of us - or the two of you. You can kick me under the table if you want me to make myself scarce."

"That's a good idea," Beckett agreed pulling out her phone.

Jim Beckett rang the bell forty-five minutes later as Castle was pulling chicken from under the broiler. Kate had put away the wine glasses, put out sparkling water and made coffee. Her father kissed her on the cheek. "Katie, as much as I appreciate the invitation, I get the feeling there's something on your mind. What's going on?"

"Jim, let's sit down," Castle invited.

Jim Beckett ran his fingers nervously over the condensation on his water bottle. "What's wrong?"

"Dad, nothing's wrong," Kate began tentatively, "but something has happened. We have proof who was behind Mom's murder. We just put it in the hands of the FBI tonight, but sooner or later the story's going to break and I needed you to hear it from me. The man who hired Dick Coonan to kill Mom was William Bracken."

Jim gasped. "Senator Bracken? Are you sure?"

"There's no doubt, Dad. Mom had the proof that he intended to take her out. I just found it. Are you all right?"

Jim Beckett shook his head. "No. Bracken's been proposing an environmental campaign. I contributed. I enlisted my colleagues. I don't understand how this could be, that I've been helping the man who killed my wife? What's your proof?"

Beckett placed the file in front of her father and told him about the tape. Dinner was forgotten as Jim Beckett stared at the papers before him. "He took me in. How many others? There's been talk of running him for president. There is a lot of money behind him. He has a lot of power. It's going to be very hard to get the country to believe he did these things, no matter how much evidence you have."

"Sir, we know," Castle agreed solemnly.

"We have the help of the best the FBI has to offer. It will take time, but we will make people believe and we will see him brought to justice," Kate continued. "Daddy, I promise."

Jim Beckett put his arms around his daughter and held tightly as the tears ran down both their faces. Castle silently left the room.

When Jim Beckett left the loft he headed for a church where he knew a late meeting was taking place. Bypassing the coffee and donuts he took a seat. When the time came, he shared. "My name is Jim and I haven't wanted a drink this much in thirteen years."


	50. Chapter 50

A/N Thank you to everyone for the great reviews. I really appreciate them.

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 50

"Detective Beckett, A word?" Gates commanded. "You too Mr. Castle. I'm sure you're mixed up in this somehow. Close the door. I've just had two very interesting calls. The first one was from Tonia Gonzales. For some reason, the FBI has requested all her materials on Cole Maddox. The second one was from an Agent Shaw of the FBI. She not only requested all of our materials on Maddox but Detective Beckett's presence on a special task force. Do you know Agent Shaw?"

"Yes Sir," Beckett replied carefully. "I, actually both of us, worked with Agent Shaw to catch Scott Dunn, a serial killer who was obsessed with Nikki Heat."

Gates rolled her eyes. "A serial killer obsessed with one of your characters, Mr. Castle, why am I not surprised?. So does either of you have any idea why Agent Shaw would want Detective Beckett on an FBI task force?"

"Captain, Detective Beckett has been on several," Castle remarked. "She has been successful on all of them. Why wouldn't they?"

Gates snorted. "Detective Beckett?"

"Perhaps because of my familiarity with the case, Sir," Beckett suggested.

Gates' eyes narrowed. "Alright you two. As usual, I'm sure there's something you're not telling me, but I'll let it pass. I'll be granting Agent Shaw's request. The task force has set up headquarters at the Federal Building uptown. They'll be expecting you Detective Beckett, and I doubt they'd be surprised at Mr. Castle's appearance. Now get out of here!"

"You think Gates is really mad at us?" Castle asked as Beckett drove.

"Well she's always mad at you, Castle," Beckett teased, "but no one in the department likes interference from the Feds. She's guarding her territory, just like Gonzales is."

Beckett and Castle found Gates correct that their appearance was anticipated. Security quickly prepared badges for them and Jordan Shaw was waiting. "I'm sure it comes of no surprise to you that the preliminary report from our lab shows no tampering with the tape you gave me," Shaw reported. "They also compared Bracken's voice with recordings of speeches he made in his first congressional campaign. It's a good thing your local public radio station keeps good archives. They got a good match. So we are proceeding on the basis that what was on the tape is genuine. What we'll be doing now is keeping this investigation under wraps so we can acquire as much evidence as possible on Bracken's murders before we go after him. He is already aware of the conspiracy charges from Ms. Gonzales. His attorneys have filed multiple motions to have them thrown out. That may keep him busy while we build our case. All of this must remain completely confidential. Is there anyone else who knows?"

Beckett and Castle looked at each other. "Michael Smith, a lawyer with Monty and Joulson, gave us Montgomery's file, and had dealings with Bracken on Kate's behalf." Castle related. "He said he was going to disappear. He didn't want Bracken coming after him. We may not be able to find him."

"And I told my father," Beckett admitted. "I thought he had a right to know who killed his wife. He's an attorney. He knows how to keep his mouth shut."

"Call him," Shaw ordered. "make sure he understands how important it is, and if he has mentioned it to anyone, we need to know who. Anyone else?"

"I hired George Lufkin to do security for Kate and me and for my family," Castle confided. "He took out one of Bracken's henchmen. I'm sure his threat assessment has uncovered connections to Bracken."

"You need to call him too," Shaw instructed. "We'll need his silence and also any information he's gathered. We also don't want any of his operatives following the two of you around when you're working with us. We have secure lines in here. You two can use them. When you're finished, I can brief you on what we've uncovered so far and get your input."

"Any problems with your contacts?" Shaw inquired when Beckett and Castle joined her in a briefing room.

"As I assumed, Smith is in the wind," Castle reported. "His firm said he resigned. They have no contact information. George Lufkin will be delivering his materials to you later today. He needs some time to make sure you have complete files. His operatives know everything they do is confidential, but he'll be talking to them to reinforce the message."

Beckett chewed on her lip. "I talked to my father. He's pulled back from contacts he had in Bracken's political camp, which may raise some questions, but he hasn't talked to anyone about the case. He understands how important it is to keep a lid on things until we're ready to move. I asked him to try to behave as normally as possible, but he'd already canceled a couple of meetings with colleagues. He'll have his staff put out a story that he had a family emergency."

"Not far from the truth," Castle commented.

"Alright," Jordan acknowledged. "Now this is something that may be new to you. We heard some whispers from the DEA that there is drug money flowing into political PACS, major contributors to Bracken. We looked into Bracken's dealings as a D.A. and found associations with drug operations, especially those of one Vulcan Simmons."

"Oh God," Beckett exclaimed. Castle grasped her hand under the table.

"What?" Shaw asked.

"I talked to him," Beckett recalled, her free hand balling into a fist. "We picked him up on the suspicion of killing John Raglan. I also thought he might have something to do with my mother's death because she was running a campaign to clean up the neighborhood in his territory in Washington Heights. We didn't have evidence of a connection in either murder. Montgomery cut him loose."

"You know, Montgomery might have known Simmons had a connection to Bracken. He was keeping you away from it," Castle speculated "Besides Coonan, Simmons may have been one of the dangerous people Bracken was talking about on the tape."

"We'll be keeping an eye on Simmons and his lieutenants and seeing if we can substantiate a connection to Bracken," Shaw informed them. "Also, we've got forensic accountants looking into holdings that might be fronts for Simmons, Bracken, or both. They've just started the work but from the reports I'm receiving so far, Bracken has tentacles everywhere and some of them seem to extend into properties associated with Simmons. There's a lot to untangle. Now what I need you to do, Kate, and you also, Mr. Castle..."

"Rick," Castle interrupted.

"Rick," Jordan repeated, "if you're willing, is go through our data as it comes in, see if there are any connections we might have missed. Can you do that?"

Becket squeezed Castle's hand as the answer came simultaneously from their mouths. "Absolutely."


	51. Chapter 51

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 51

Castle rubbed his eyes and stared again at the surveillance photos of Simmons' territory on his screen. He clicked on one, bringing it to maximum size. "Beckett, does this guy look out of place to you?"

Beckett stretched tiredly and looked at Castle's monitor. "What do you mean?"

"Look at the suit. It's a conservative cut but well fitted. The fabric is high quality. The shoes are Italian," Castle pointed out. "He looks like an up and coming Washington lawyer or staffer. But look at the neighborhood, There's a car repair shop, a bodega, not the kind of place a guy like that would hang out."

"Do we have facial recognition on him?" Beckett inquired.

Castle brought up a second window. "No. Not in the system. I'm going to look for D.C. associates of Bracken and see if I can track him down."

Jordan Shaw strode into the room. "It's after midnight. I need you two functional and you miss things when you're tired. Go home. I'll have a unit follow you back. You can start fresh in the morning."

"I really need to..." Castle protested.

"That wasn't a request, Rick. I have people waiting," Jordan declared, leaving no room for argument.

Beckett navigated the relatively clear New York streets to the loft while Castle looked at his outside mirror. "Black SUV. The FBI hasn't gotten any more subtle."

"No," Beckett agreed, "but if they need to do a bump and run, it's a better car than a Fusion."

Castle nodded. "Point taken, still I wish we had one of George's people on us."

Beckett put a hand on his thigh. "Yeah, me too, but at least they're watching the loft."

Castle and Beckett climbed wearily between the sheets, but Castle found himself staring at the play of the city lights on the ceiling. "You can't sleep either?" Castle asked as Beckett readjusted her pillow.

"Too many things running through my head," Beckett admitted, "and my neck is stiff."

"That last part I can fix," Castle offered, sitting up. "Just lean against me." The muscles in Beckett's neck and shoulders slowly unknotted under Castle's able fingers. He leaned in to feather a kiss on the soft skin above her collarbone.

Beckett arched, gasping at the touch of his lips.

"Kate do you want...?"

Beckett turned, pressing her lips to his in answer. A tsunami of need pushed all thought from their minds, leaving only raw desire. Hands groped, almost with the clumsiness of teens, as pajamas and nightshirt were pulled away. Skin met skin with startling heat, fanning their urgency to a flame. Castle feasted on Beckett, only to grow ever hungrier, while her body sought ever more of his touch. Their joining was of wild desperation, creating a world in which nothing existed but urgent need. Beckett moaned as the seed of sensation grew too slowly, moving faster to feed it, while Castle found the center of her feminine longing.

The explosion was sudden and shocking, throwing them apart. Struggling for breath, Castle held Beckett to his side, as the boon of sleep was at last bestowed on their exhausted bodies.

Beckett carefully bore two cups of coffee to the bed where Castle still slept. She passed one in front of his face allowing the siren call of the rich aroma to penetrate his senses. His dark lashes fluttered open framing the deep blue of his eyes. "Good morning."

Beckett lightly stroked the hair on his forehead as he sat up and took the steaming cup she offered. "There's an FBI team downstairs waiting for us. They just called."

"What time is it?" Castle asked.

"It's nine," Beckett informed him. "When we finally slept, we really slept. I've only been up long enough to make coffee."

Castle grinned. "I think we found the best sleep aid known to man."

"And woman," Beckett added, smiling saucily. "I'm sure Jordan would be happy that we followed her orders to get some - rest. But now we really do have to get going."

* * *

><p>Castle pored over listings, pictures, and videos of Bracken's staff and associates looking for a match to the young man he had spotted the night before. "Beckett, I've found him."<p>

Beckett put aside the printout she was examining. "Who is he?"

"His name is Jason Marks. He's one of Bracken's staffers. He's our connection between Bracken and Simmons," Castle declared excitedly.

"Not yet, Castle," Beckett cautioned. "He's just in the right vicinity. For all we know, he could be visiting his mother or trying to find a hooker. We need to catch him with Simmons or at least one of his known lieutenants. We can ask Jordan to put him under surveillance."

Castle and Beckett walked down the hall to where Jordan had set up her temporary office. After Castle's explanation, Jordan picked up the phone. Her eyes darkened.

"What's wrong?" Castle asked.

"We're a little late," Jordan reported. "Jason Marks was found murdered this morning in lower Manhattan. The 12th Precinct picked up the case. In fact, your team, Ryan and Esposito are on it. We'll need to coordinate with them."

* * *

><p>"So who are you working for on this case, Detective," Gates asked, "The FBI or the NYPD?"<p>

"Sir," Beckett told her, "I'm working to solve Jason Marks' murder."

"We're all on the same team, Captain," Castle added.

"Mr. Castle, you're on no one's team," Gates asserted. "You don't work for the NYPD or the FBI, but you're here and for some reason Agent Shaw regards you as useful. Now here's what's going to happen: Ryan and Esposito have the lead on this case, that's not going to change. You will work with them, but they have charge of the investigation. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir," Beckett agreed while Castle nodded.

"Now go talk to your pals," Gates ordered.

Beckett and Castle met Ryan and Esposito at the murder board. "Guys," Beckett asked softly, "can we go talk somewhere?" They clustered around the espresso machine in the break room with Castle making a show of loudly steaming lattes while they talked in low tones.

"Beckett, what's this all about?" Ryan asked.

"Jason Marks worked for Bracken, and Castle and I think he's the connection between Bracken and Vulcan Simmons' drug operation." Beckett explained.

"Vulcan Simmons?" Esposito exclaimed. "What does he have to do with Bracken?"

"Look, we don't have the whole picture yet," Beckett continued. "It looks like Bracken is using drug money to fund his political career and Jason Marks may have been a go between, but so far there's no proof. Do you have any traffic cam footage from where the body was found?"

"It just came in," Ryan told her, "but there may not be anything helpful. "Lanie said Marks was killed elsewhere and dumped."

"Marks was seen in Washington Heights. That may be where he bought it," Castle suggested.

"We'll check the cars coming from that direction, but it sounds like a long shot," Ryan offered.

"Ryan," Beckett encouraged, "If anyone can dig something out of video footage, it's you."

Ryan carefully examined a view of the trunk of a black Lincoln, before saving it to a file and sending it to the large screen in Tech. He enlarged the area just above the bumper as much as he could without losing resolution, before calling the others into the room. "What do you see?" He asked.

Castle stared at the image. "I see blood."


	52. Chapter 52

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 52

"Ryan, can we get the plate?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah," Ryan replied, "I already got it. It's part of a fleet registered to a corporation."

"Could you send the information to me?" Beckett requested. "Tracing corporate ownership is just the sort of thing Jordan's guys are good for." She shifted her attention. "Castle, we should get back."

Castle nodded in silent agreement.

"Your Lincoln has led us quite a merry chase," Jordan Shaw announced. "The corporation that owns it is owned in turn by a holding company which is part of a larger holding company. We have found that among the holdings of the parent company is some real estate in the area where Jason Marks was last seen alive."

"So if we can tie one of those buildings to Vulcan Simmons' drug operation, we have the connection?"

Castle asked.

"A very big if, Rick," Jordan responded. "We don't have probable cause for a warrant for any of them and we don't have the manpower to catch the comings and goings from each of the buildings."

"I'd like to trace the history of those buildings and see what I come up with," Castle proposed.

"I'm going to look deeper in to Jason Marks," Beckett said. "Ryan and Esposito should be able to get his financials and phone calls as part of the murder investigation and I can trace down his associations in N.Y. And in D.C.."

Jordan nodded slowly. "Both reasonable avenues of investigation. Keep me apprised." She began to walk out of the room.

"Jordan," Castle called after her, "I'd really like to go to the New York Public Library downtown. They have a lot of materials on the history of New York that aren't available online."

"I can have our people take you down there," Jordan agreed. "What about you, Kate?"

Beckett was hesitant to be separated from Castle, but shoved her disquiet aside. "I think I might work better with the boys at the 12th. Castle and I can compare notes later."

"Fine," Jordan told her. "We'll give you an escort. Keep in touch."

* * *

><p>Castle inhaled the scent of paper. He had a feeling of comfort with the sense of coming home, having spent so many hours within the familiar walls both as a child and while researching his books. As both the internet and his bond with Beckett had grown more vital to his life, he'd spent less and less time here, but it was still a haven. The table at which he worked was covered with books and articles detailing the history of Washington Heights. While the area had been a center for criminal activity in the 1980's, the crime rate had fallen precipitously with changes in population until it was now the fourth lowest in the city. Some of Vulcan Simmons' old stomping grounds had undergone considerable gentrification along with bordering neighborhoods in Harlem. There were still, however, pockets of suspicious activity. The neighborhood in which Jason Marks had been seen was one of them. Castle focused on the block containing the bodega and the car repair shop. The bodega was merely the latest incarnation of a store that had passed through multiple first generation immigrants, belonging to Dominicans before passing to a family from Ecuador. Castle could find nothing suspicious about it.<p>

The car repair shop was another matter. It had once been a garage, known for modifying cars for use in running drugs. It had finally passed to the parent of the corporation linked to the ownership of the bloodied Lincoln. Triumphantly, Castle called Beckett with his discovery.

Beckett traced Jason Marks' phone records, courtesy of Esposito. There were a number of dead ends, phones with both New York City and D.C area codes, but untraceable burners. She found some calls to the official offices of PACs supporting Bracken. That came as no surprise. There was also a call to a pizza outlet in Washington Heights. Beckett requested the records of where pizzas might have been delivered that day. After frustrating discussions with increasingly higher levels of management, she secured a promise the records would be sent to her via email. She was examining the list when Castle called.

"Beckett," Castle reported breathlessly, "that car repair shop we saw in the picture of Jordan Marks, it's connected to the same corporation the Lincoln was registered to."

Beckett regarded her screen with sudden realization. "Castle, I have another link. Jason Marks had a pizza delivered there the day before his body was found. We have enough for a warrant!"

* * *

><p>Members of the NYPD and agents of the FBI assembled just before dawn to launch their assault, out of sight a block over from the car repair shop. Justified by both local and Federal warrants, they simultaneously broke through several doors. The repair shop was empty, but the Lincoln was there. UV light revealed blood residue on the bumper, in the trunk, and also on on the concrete floor.<p>

Steps led upstairs. Jordan led a squad, including Beckett, Ryan, and Esposito upward into a lavishly furnished apartment. Implored by Beckett, Castle in his Writer's vest, kept to the rear of the group. The apartment was silent. White powder and razor blades lay on a glass coffee table. Scents of marijuana and perfume hung in the air. Weapons drawn, Jordan and Beckett flanked a closed door while Esposito kicked it open. Vulcan Simmons lay, eyes closed under a red satin sheet, with a woman on either side. "Wake up, you sonofabitch!" Beckett shouted. "You're under arrest for murder."

With a feeling of déjà vu, Castle sat next to Beckett in interrogation, while Vulcan Simmons smirked defiantly at her glare. "Simmons, CSU is going over every inch of that Lincoln now. They will find Jason Marks' DNA," Beckett asserted.

"They might, but they won't find mine," Simmons insisted, laughing. "I've never seen that car before. It's a repair shop. Cars come and go. Who knows what happens in them?"

"The apartment where you were found was full of illegal drugs," Beckett continued, leaning across the table.

"Well I'll give you that one, Detective," Simmons replied. "The ladies, well they brought their evening's entertainment. Helps to get them in the mood. You want to bust me for drug possession, fine. I'll be out of here in an hour."

Beckett smiled, the steel in her eyes unchanged by the upturn of her mouth. "No Mr. Simmons, I'm not going to bust you for drugs, but it does give me grounds to hold you, long enough to leak it that you're telling tales, tales about a certain very powerful man. Then how long do you think you'll last at the Tombs? Five minutes? That might even be generous."

All amusement vanished from Simmons' face. "You can't do that."

Beckett's smile never wavered as she held him in her unrelenting gaze. "Try me."


	53. Chapter 53

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 53

"So where's Vulcan Simmons?" Beckett asked, as Jordan Shaw visited the loft.

"We've got him in a safe house," Jordan replied.

"I hope it's not too nice," Castle commented. "The bastard deserves to rot in a cage."

"I agree with you, Rick," Jordan told him, "but he's the witness that not only connects Bracken to the drug operations, but knows the details to enable us to bring them down. Once we have all of that, we can launch a joint operation to bring the operations and Bracken all down at once. The money will keep flowing to Bracken until then. We've leaked a story to the streets that Simmons is refusing to cooperate and that we've got him stashed somewhere for questioning. We're hoping that will make Bracken feel secure enough to give us the element of surprise."

Castle shook his head."This is like Churchill allowing the bombing of Coventry so that the Germans wouldn't know Turing had broken Enigma. A lot of innocent people died to keep a secret."

"But more lives were saved," Jordan pointed out. "Look, I don't like this any better than you do. We'll make it all go down as fast as we can. Then Bracken, Simmons, and all their minions will be behind bars where they belong. In the meantime, you two should hunker down. Captain Gates has been told that Kate is still working with a task force. We'll have units outside the loft until the operation goes down. Do you have everything you need?"

A smile ghosted at the corners of Beckett's mouth. "If there's anything Castle excels at, it's preparation for emergencies."

"Laugh if you like," Castle retorted, "but Zombie Apocalypse Survival Training Camp has come in handy. We're fully stocked."

"How about your families?" Jordan asked.

"Meredith, Alexis' mother, is doing a film in Paris. Alexis has gone with her. She's doing a paper on the Louvre for extra credit in her art history class." Castle related proudly. "Mother's got a gig on a cruise ship. I think it's a cougar cruise and she's acting as some sort of life style adviser. Anyway, they're both out of the line of fire."

"My dad's gone up to his cabin for a while," Beckett added. "No one can get in there without being seen miles off."

Jordan nodded in satisfaction. "That's good. I'll let you know when everything is set to go."

Beckett watched the door close behind Jordan and started to pace the floor with clenched fists. "Kate, take it easy," Castle counseled. "We may be waiting for days and by that time the hardwood will need refinishing."

Beckett stopped for a moment, jamming her hands into her pockets. "Yeah, but Castle, I just hate waiting. You know?"

Coming behind her, Castle put his hands on her shoulders and touched his cheek to hers. "I do. But you know there's been something else that's been waiting, something we put on the back burner during this whole ugly business."

Beckett turned to face him. "What?"

"The wedding planning. Ryan didn't really want to bring it up, but he asked me about it when we were at the precinct. Jenny is getting anxious and apparently her mother is getting really anxious," Castle explained. "We have the time now and we both need the distraction. How about if we work on it?"

Beckett nodded slowly. "Castle you know more about this than I do. I'm not even sure where to start."

Castle pulled out a chair at the table and guided Beckett to sit. He brought two legal pads and two pens and sat with her. "Okay, Ryan's told me that Jenny has had her eye on a particular church ever since she was a little girl. She's just waiting for word from us to book it. It holds about a thousand people, so it should be large enough."

"Castle, you want a thousand people at our wedding?" Beckett asked incredulously.

Castle put a calming hand over hers. "Ryan and Jenny both have very large families. They'll probably account for at least four hundred people. You'll want to invite your friends and family. I have a list of people from the publishing world I have to include and mother has all her people from the theater. By the time we finish the lists, we'll probably be pretty close."

Beckett ran her fingers through her hair. "I had no idea. How about the reception? Where do we feed a thousand people?"

Castle laughed. "We don't. A caterer or the catering staff of a hotel does. But to get a hall or a ballroom that big, we need to book ASAP. We may have to hope for a cancellation as it is, especially since Ryan and Jenny wanted to get married around Christmas and we're only a few months away. We'll have to start calling around. Tell you what. You call Jenny and tell her to book the church and then when she has a date, we'll find a reception venue. While we wait for Jenny, we can work on guest lists and figure out what kind of entertainment we want."

Beckett shook her head dubiously. "Sounds like a monstrous undertaking."

"It's true." Castle agreed. "Jordan's raid on Bracken and Simmons' drug operations pales in comparison to the complexity of a wedding. But you and I can pull this off. After what we've survived so far, anything is possible."

* * *

><p>"Jenny says Christmas was impossible but she got the second Saturday morning in January," Beckett reported. "Apparently there's a lull between Christmas and Valentines Day."<p>

"Okay," Castle acknowledged, consulting the list of possible reception sites he had located and picking up his phone. "Now the real fun begins."

Castle rolled his head and shoulders tiredly. "No luck?" Beckett asked.

Castle shook his head. "The middle of January may be a lull for weddings but not for conferences. So far all the big ballrooms are booked and have been for a year. I'm going to have to do some out of the box thinking."

"Castle, that is your specialty," Beckett encouraged.

"Yeah, but - wait, I think I know." Castle picked up his phone again.

"What?" Beckett asked when Castle ended his conversation.

"It couldn't be better!" Castle exclaimed excitedly. There's a Mystery Writers conclave at the Dickenson that weekend. A lot of the authors coming are on our guest list anyway, but the opening ceremonies aren't until mid afternoon and the first plenary session doesn't start until five. The ballroom will be free right after the wedding, and can be reset for the plenary later. It will also give us a perfect excuse to shoo the guests out so we can - get a start on our wedding night. I got us the honeymoon suite. Most of those guys are too cheap to spring for that. It was wide open."

Beckett threw her arms around Castle's neck, her feet lifting from the ground. "Castle, this is really going to work, isn't it?"

Castle's lips were too busy to reply.

A/N I wanted to make the date coincide as closely as I could with the original airing of '_Til Death Do Us Part._


	54. Chapter 54

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 54

William Bracken sat smugly in his chair while a final touch-up was applied to his make-up. It had all been leading to this. After this interview, he would be the frontrunner for the presidency and then nothing could stop him. With unlimited funding, he could crush his opponents. He would finally wield the power he had worked so hard to obtain. He brushed imaginary lint from his sleeve. He deserved this. All the others who thought they might compete were hopelessly weak. They knuckled under to the power brokers. But not Bill. He gave quarter to no one. He was the leader the Western World needed.

Kate Beckett sat with Castle in the back of the FBI vehicle. The windows were tinted and she was invisible to the outside world. Her phone was clutched tightly in her hand. She needed only the go from Jordan Shaw to walk up the steps and make her way past the cameras. She would to finish the task that had begun so long ago when Dick Coonan plunged his knife into Johanna Beckett.

Castle knew better than to try to distract Kate. Her every sense, every thought, was riveted on the task ahead. As a writer, he thought he knew about denouement, but he had never written one like this. Kate's twenty year quest for justice would finally be coming to fruition. He felt the tension in the lithe body next to his and he could only imagine the depth of her emotion. As his hand reached reassuringly for her knee, he could feel her impatience to spring into action.

Beckett's phone buzzed and two words appeared on the screen: "It's done."

"I'll be here," Castle promised as she jumped from the car. Beckett began her climb flanked by the FBI, as Ryan and Esposito waited in an NYPD vehicle below. It was her investigation and her collar, a fact fully respected by her friends and co-workers. Beckett made her way to where Bracken sat with Linda, an eager reporter.

"Senator, why do you want to be President?" Linda began her interview.

Bracken leaned in, a mask of sincerity shaping his face. "Well it's simple, Linda. I'm tired. The backroom deals, the corruption, the waste, I'm exhausted frankly and I know the American people are too. Look, this country deserves a leader who won't back..." As Beckett strode into Bracken's line of sight, the color drained from his face. "Who won't fight - who won't back away from a fight, who has a proven record of taking on special interests and proving government can be a force for good."

Beckett fixed Bracken with a triumphant stare, fingering her handcuffs.

Bracken stood, sweat beading his brow. "I'm sorry, I'm going to have to cut this short."

"Is something wrong, Senator?" Linda inquired.

Desperation flashed in Bracken's eyes, as the pitch of his voice rose. "You, you, can't be here," he told Beckett.

"No Senator," Beckett returned, "you've got that backwards. You can't be here. In fact you can't be anywhere except behind the strongest bars this country can offer. William Bracken, I am arresting you on multiple counts of drug trafficking, conspiracy, fraud, and the murder of my mother Johanna Beckett. Turn around, please."

Linda nodded to her cameraman to keep rolling as Beckett snapped handcuffs on Bracken's wrists. Within moments, special bulletins flashed across the nation.

"We'll take it from here," Ryan told Beckett as she walked Bracken to a waiting car.

Beckett handed off her prisoner to Esposito. The darkness of his eyes drilled into the watery depths of Bracken's. "This has been a long time coming," Esposito taunted, shoving Bracken into the back seat of his vehicle. "Now the world will finally know just what a scumbag you are."

Beckett gazed after the caravan of cars driving away, as Castle leaned against the FBI transport, pride and love shining from every feature of his handsome face. "She's proud of you, wherever she is, she's proud of you, and so am I."

Beckett stroked his cheek. "I could never have done this without you."

"Without you, it wouldn't have been worth it," Castle replied, pulling her to him.

Cell phones clicked on a kiss destined to live forever on the web. Castle extended his hand. "Let's go."

The music was loud and lively at the Old Haunt. Footage of Bracken's arrest played in a continuous loop on a wide screen TV. Ryan and Esposito, surrounded by the denizens of the 12th happily tipped back their second round on the house. The owner of the house sat quietly in a booth with his fianceé, their hands clasped across the table. "How does it feel?" Castle asked.

"Beckett closed her eyes, trying to form an answer. "I don't know. There was such fulfillment in putting the cuffs on Bracken, especially exposing him for what he is, in front of the whole country. Still, finding my mother's killer, catching him, has been the driving force in my life for so long, I'm not sure what to do without it. It's like I'm sitting behind the steering wheel of a car, but I no longer have any idea of my destination. It's confusing."

"Well I have a destination we can try," Castle offered.

"What?" Beckett asked.

"Shmulie called," Castle told her, "the jeweler who sold me your ring. I'd told him I wanted matching wedding bands. He had them made and he just got them in. We could go try them on, see if you like them."

Beckett could see the hopeful look in Castle's eyes. "Sure Castle, that sounds nice."

Castle felt the smooth weight of gold against his finger and regretted having to remove it. The time until the wedding seemed endless, even though the tasks yet to be accomplished could barely be accommodated within the time remaining. He slipped the ring off and back into Shmulie's hand. "I'll get the engraving done," Shmulie told him, as Beckett handed back her ring as well. "You two are a beautiful couple. Rick, I feel it in my bones. This one is going to stick. I've seen enough wedding rings come and go to know by now. This is a union God will bless."

Beckett was aware that some in Shmulie's community observed restrictions on touch between men and women, but since he had fitted the ring on her finger himself, was reasonably sure she was on safe ground. She leaned over the counter and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"You want to catch a bite or go back to the loft?" Castle asked, preparing to hail a cab.

"Let's go home," Beckett responded, pleasure lighting Castle's eyes her use of the word. "There's something I need to do."

Beckett slipped the small ring that had lain between her breasts since her mother's death, from its chain, and carefully placed it in her keepsake box. "Are you sure?" Castle asked.

Beckett's eyes held his as she nodded. "It's time to put the past behind me. Right now it's all about the future, our future together." More than willingly, she melted into the loving strength of Castle's embrace.


	55. Chapter 55

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 55

"Really Mother, are you sure you want to take this on?" Castle asked. "I know Chet left you the money to pursue your dreams, but a repertory company is a big undertaking. How about a dream apartment - of your own?"

"Don't be absurd, Richard," Martha declared. "Alexis is growing up, you'll have a new wife, it is time I establish something to which I can fully devote my talents. I just need to assure the rest of the financing." Martha royally seated herself in front of the bank manager's desk with Castle fidgeting beside her, and examined the paperwork the manager handed to her. "Mr. Davenport, this is outrageous. You are nothing but a well dressed loan shark."

"Mrs. Rodgers," Davenport soothed. "I assure you this is a very competitive interest rate considering your financial history. However, if your son co-signs..."

"Yes!" Castle interrupted quickly, anxious to finish the transaction.

"No Richard," Martha protested. "It's my company and my loan. It's the principle of the thing."

"No Mrs. Rodgers," Davenport interjected, "it's the interest."

"And I've just lost mine," Castle told his mother, pulling out his phone and wandering away. He swiped the heart icon. "Tell me that you need me," he implored Beckett.

Beckett smiled at the phone. "Why else would I be marrying you, Castle?"

"I meant that there's a nice murder to solve. I'm at the bank with Mother and she's decided to launch a Martha Rodgers assault on interest rates. I need an excuse to get out of here."

"I'm sorry Castle. I've got nothing but paperwork, but if you want to come and help...?"

Castle grimaced. "The only worse than being here is doing paperwork. But on the other hand, I would be with you. Huh?"

"What Castle?" Beckett asked.

"I think this bank is about to be robbed," Castle told her.

"Are you writing a scene, Castle?"

"No, really Kate. There are two people in scrubs and they have suspicious bulges in their jackets."

"Castle, are you sure this isn't your writer's imagination?" Beckett queried, before hearing a metallic snap, followed by the sound of guns being cocked.

"Everyone get down on the floor!" a gunman demanded.

"Not my imagination," Castle assured her. "Definitely not my imagination."

"Oh my God!" Martha exclaimed.

Castle pulled Martha to him and the crouched behind a desk. "Castle, where are you?" Beckett asked.

"I'm at the New Amsterdam Bank and Trust on Lex," Castle whispered into the phone.

Beckett called across the bullpen. "Esposito, there's a ten thirty at the New Amsterdam Bank on Lex. Call dispatch."

"Since when are we taking bank robbery calls?" Ryan asked.

"Castle's there," Beckett reported grimly. "and so is Martha."

Esposito picked up his phone.

"Throw down your cell phones, now!" one of the robbers commanded. Everyone complied except Castle, who remained hidden from sight except from one other customer. Castle caught the man's gaze and put a finger to his lips. The man nodded.

"Castle, what's happening?" Beckett demanded urgently.

Castle continued to whisper into his phone. "I'm behind a desk with my mother, but I can see everything. They're all wearing doctor's scrubs and masks. One of them is emptying the cash drawer. Another is going for the bank manager. He just tore a key from around the manager's neck. He's going to the back of the bank."

"How many are there?" Beckett asked.

"Three," Castle reported before feeling the muzzle of a gun at the back of his neck. "Make that four."

"So you're the hero I'm going to make an example of," the gunman taunted Castle, snatching his phone. "Sorry, your buddy can't talk right now."

"I wouldn't worry about him, I'd worry about you," Beckett warned.

"Who is this?" the gunman asked.

"Detective Kate Beckett," she informed him.

"A cop? What, you called the cops?" The gunman demanded, training his gun on Castle.

"No!" Castle protested. "She's my fianceé. We were already on the phone when you came in. You know how women are. She always wants to know where I am."

"I've got squad cars on the way," Beckett announced. "Listen to me. So far nobody has been hurt and nothing has been stolen. So leave now, and this will just be a quirky little article in the metro section."

"Sorry sweetheart," the gunman jeered. "I'd rather make the front page." The gunman threw the phone to the marble floor and ground it under his heel.

Beckett rose from her chair, banging her hands on the desk. "Let's go!"

"Beckett," Ryan asked. "Can you handle this? I know my stomach just dropped through the floor and he's your fiancé."

"I'll be fine," Beckett replied resolutely. "I just need to get up there."

The hostage negotiation team was setting up in their trailer when Beckett opened the door. Captain Petersen, according to the name emblazoned on his uniform, gave her an unwelcoming stare. "Who are you?"

"Detective Kate Beckett, homicide," Beckett replied.

"Well Detective, I'll call you if there's a murder," Petersen replied derisively. "Right now I need you to step outside."

"No Sir," Beckett argued, "my partner is in there."

Petersen's eyebrows rose below his balding pate. "We got a cop in there?"

Beckett carefully considered her response. "No Sir, he's a civilian investigator. I was on the phone with him when the robbery went down. I spoke to one of the suspects."

Petersen rolled his eyes. "Right, I should have recognized the name, Kate Beckett. You took down that crooked Senator and you work with that writer, Castle. Aren't you two engaged or something?"

"Yes sir," Beckett confessed.

"So what can you tell me about the suspect? What was his demeanor?" Petersen asked.

"Calm, very calm," Beckett reported.

"Do you know how many suspects there are?" Petersen inquired further.

Beckett nodded. "Castle said there were four."

"Well, I thank you for the intel, Detective, but you have too much of an emotional investment to be anywhere near this operation," Petersen pronounced. "We'll do our best to get your fiancé out, but you need to leave - now."

Beckett reluctantly left the trailer and gazed at the crowd gathering behind the police barricades, unsure of what to do next. Ryan and Esposito joined her.

"What did you find out?" Ryan asked.

"Nothing," Beckett replied, shaking her head. "I knew more about what was going on in that bank than their commander did, but he doesn't want me anywhere near his operation."

"ESU is here," Esposito informed her, pointing at the armored cops positioned around the building. I worked with some of those guys. I may be able to get a line on anything they know.

"Thanks Espo," Beckett said gratefully.

"Detective Beckett," Petersen's assistant Monfriez called from the door of the trailer. "The captain would like a word.

"Detective, I have a problem," Petersen explained. "Our suspect insists he will only talk to the lady cop, the one with the bedroom voice. So you're up, whether I want you to be or not."

"Sir, I have no training in hostage negotiation," Beckett protested, wiping her suddenly clammy palms against her pants.

"We have no choice here," Petersen told her. "And I don't have time to give you a seminar. Just think of it this way. Do everything the opposite of the way you would in homicide. Don't push. Keep the suspect calm. Build rapport. Just give us time to figure out how to take these bastards out."

Petersen handed Kate a headset. "This is Kate Beckett, I'm told you wanted to resume our conversation. Who am I speaking to?"

"You can call me Trapper John," the gunman smirked."

"A MASH fan," Beckett responded. "Me too. What can I do to help?"

"Oh Kate, Kate," Trapper chided. "You're running that idiot's playbook aren't you? What did Captain Confidence tell you? Keep me calm? Build rapport? Extract information. Forget it! "Here's what's going to work. You lie to me, I kill hostages. You try to jerk me around, I kill hostages. You storm the bank, I kill hostages. And Kate, I'll start with your fiancé."

Beckett pulled her jacket around her as a chill raced through her body. She struggled to keep her voice from shaking. "So what do you want?"

"Patience, Kate," Trapper counseled menacingly. "I'll let you know." Trapper ended the call.

Petersen looked apprehensively at the slight tremor of Beckett's hand. "Can you keep it together?" he asked.

Beckett's lips formed a hard line. "I have to, don't I?"


	56. Chapter 56

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 56

A gunman Trapper had identified as Doctor Huxtable forced the hostages to sit in a circle on the unrelentingly hard floor. "All right, I'm going to make this real simple. You move, you die."

Castle gazed with particular concern at a bank teller, whose badge read Simone, clearly well along in her pregnancy. His mind flashed unbidden to his wishes for the future with Kate, but he pushed the thought aside. "Is anyone hurt?" he asked. "When no one responded, he offered encouragement as best he could. "All right, stay relaxed. Do as they say. We'll get through this. The cops will get us out."

The hostage who had seen Castle on the phone glared angrily at him. "This is your fault, you know. He called the cops," he announced to the group. "I saw him. If he hadn't, the bank robbers would have come and gone and we'd be out of here."

"No, no," Simone disagreed. "The cops were coming anyway. The robbers screwed up. They pulled the bottom bills from the cash drawer."

"Which automatically triggers the silent alarm," Davenport continued from his seat next to Martha. "No one's fault, okay?"

Simone ran a protective hand over her belly. "Simone, how far along are you?" Martha asked.

"Thirty two weeks," Simone replied.

"Holding a pregnant woman hostage," One of the women exclaimed bitterly. "At least they should let you go."

"Lady, they're not letting anyone one go," another hostage insisted. "I've seen this movie and I know how it ends, with all of us dead."

Castle could feel the panic rising around him. "Hey, nobody's going to die. I work with the police. My fiancée's a cop, the one Trapper John is speaking to on the phone. She's going to get us out."

Doctor Huxtable threw a key to Trapper John who caught it, grabbed a bag and went to the back of the bank.

"Mr. Davenport," Castle asked, "what's behind those doors back there?"

"Restrooms, break room, security room and the safe deposit boxes." Davenport replied, puzzled at the question.

"I saw them take a key from around your neck," Castle continued. "What does it open?"

"That's my security key to the safe deposit boxes," Davenport responded.

Castle shook his head in confusion. "Something is going on here. Why does he keep going back there when there's a vault full of cash up here that's untouched?"

Martha put a restraining hand on Castle's arm. "Oh Richard, please. Curiosity killed the cat."

"No, Mother," Castle returned. "Figuring out what these robbers are really up to may help us get out of here. And I know exactly what to do. Don't worry, Mother, I saw this work on _Die Hard_.

Martha palmed her forehead. "Oh, great."

Castle stood up slowly. "Doctor Howser?

Doctor Howser turned his gun toward Castle. "You got a death wish?"

Castle tried to squirm visibly. "Just a small bladder and I get nervous when someone points a gun at me. Since it looks like we're going to be here for a while, and unless you want it messy, now might be a good time to start scheduling some restroom runs."

Howser glanced toward the only female robber, Doctor Quinn, who nodded.

Castle followed his captor to the rear of the bank. "Thank you." Castle memorized the location of a safe deposit box being opened by Trapper John. "Why Doogie Howser?" he asked his guard in an effort to disguise his attention to the box. "There are so many cooler doctors you could pick, Doctor House, Doctor Shepherd, Doctor Phil..."

Howser poked Castle with his gun. "Shut up!"

Castle rubbed the bruise on his side and silently entered the mens room.

* * *

><p>Beckett paced restlessly outside the trailer waiting for another call from Trapper John or some sign from the robbers that Castle or the other hostages had not been hurt. "Anything?" Beckett asked anxiously when Esposito returned from consulting with ESU.<p>

Esposito shook his head. "All bad news. They can't get eyes or ears in the bank. The cameras are disabled and the walls are too thick to drill in from the outside."

"So what if ESU storms the bank?" Beckett asked, remembering Trapper's warning about killing hostages, especially Castle.

Esposito sighed. "They'll be going in blind."

"And in your experience, in that scenario, what are the hostages' chances of survival?" Beckett questioned, probing for something hopeful."

Esposito just stared at the ground.

Davenport tried to calm Martha while Castle remained out of sight. "Hey, I'm sorry about before. It's just the job. Actually I'm a fan."

Martha looked at him in surprise.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream. You played Titania in Shakespeare in the Park.

Martha primped her hair. "That was in the eighties. How could you possibly remember that?"

Davenport patted her hand. "You were unforgettable."

Martha turned to him. "If I have to die, I'm glad I'm going with someone who knows my work. Thank you." She breathed a sigh of relief as she spied Castle returning.

"All right, who else needs the loo?" Howser inquired.

"I'll go," Castle's antagonist amongst the hostages volunteered.

Castle smiled and squeezed Martha's hand as he returned to his place on the floor next to her. "Did you learn anything?" she asked.

"Two things. First, Mr. Davenport may I compliment you, aside from the absence of windows or any means of escape, the restrooms here are quite lovely."

"Richard," Martha prompted impatiently.

"Second and more importantly," Castle went on, "I was right. Something odd is going on. I saw Trapper John pulling out a safe deposit box. He didn't break in, he used both keys. There were letters and photos inside."

"This is a very strange time for Trapper John to get something from his safe deposit box," Martha commented.

"Well I'm assuming the box isn't his," Castle explained. "I think these guys set off the alarm on purpose. They wanted a hostage standoff. Look at them. They're professionals, right? They know better than to take the bottom bills from the cash drawer. The needed time. Since safe deposit box keys don't have numbers on them, if they stole the key, they'd have to try every box. Mr. Davenport, the box Trapper pulled out was on the north wall." Castle closed his eyes to visualize the box. "It was four columns over, three boxes down."

Davenport thought for a moment. "That would be box one twenty."

"That box is the key to what those guys are really here to do," Castle asserted. "I need to get a message to Beckett and I need something reflective. Mother your bracelet."

Martha put a protective hand over her jewelry. "Richard, what crazy scheme are you planning now?"

"Mother I'm not walking in front of a gun," Castle cajoled. "Just a little basic communication. Anyway, I gave you the bracelet. Please?"

Martha grudgingly handed over the chunky circlet.

* * *

><p>Montriez called Beckett back into the trailer and handed her a headset.<p>

"Remember the strategy," Petersen instructed.

Beckett had her own ideas about Petersen's strategy, but she took her place in front of the console. "Hey, how's it going?"

"So far so good," Trapper replied smugly.

Beckett tried to keep her voice casual while gazing at a file Monfriez placed in front of her. "And how are the hostages? I'm a little concerned about the pregnant teller, Simone. It's a stressful situation. You don't want a woman in labor on your hands. You might think about getting her out of there."

Trapper laughed. "No, no, Kate. You've got to give to get."

"All right," Beckett agreed. "What do you want?"

"Kate it's not what I want, it's what you're going to give me," Trapper declared. "A bus with tinted windows to take me, my partners, and the hostages to Teeterboro Airport. Then you're going to have a plane ready to take me and my compatriots to the country of my choosing. You do that, I give you the knocked up bank teller. Once we land in paradise, I release the hostages. And Kate, you've got three hours." Trapper ended the call.

"Okay Monfriez," Petersen ordered. "Find me a bus with tinted windows and get it over here. We can use it to draw the suspects out where the snipers can take them down."

Monfriez was reaching for a phone to make the call when he caught a glint on his monitor. "What's that?"

"That's Morse code," Beckett exclaimed. "That's Castle! He's getting a message out!"

"How do you know?" Petersen asked doubtfully.

"Believe me, I know," Beckett assured him. "Castle had Derrick Storm do something similar in one of his books. 'S, D, B, 120,' over and over. What's SDB in a bank?" Beckett snapped her fingers. Safe deposit box!"

What could a safe deposit box have to do with anything?" Petersen wondered skeptically.

"Trust me," Beckett told him. "If Castle went to the trouble of sending the message, it's important."

Monfriez consulted his screen. "It belongs to a married couple, Agnes and Gideon Fields."

"I'll have my team check them out," Beckett told Petersen.

* * *

><p>Doctor Quinn looked suspiciously at Castle. "Beckett's had time to see your message," Martha whispered. "You better give the bracelet back to me before she decides to blow your head off."<p>

The other hostage returned from the restroom. "They had C4 back there, he whispered to Castle anxiously."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked.

The hostage grasped Castle's arm in panic. "They're going to blow us all up!"

"Just calm down," Castle urged.

"I can't," the hostage protested. "I have a family!"

"We all have families," Martha told him, an unusual firmness in her tone, now calm down."

"What's your name?" Castle asked.

"Sal, Sal Martino." the hostage replied shakily.

"You have a wife, kids Sal?" Castle inquired steadily.

"I have a son," Sal responded. "Connor."

"I bet the only thing you can think about is seeing him again," Castle surmised. "Am I right?"

"You have no idea," Sal agreed.

"Then you think about seeing Connor real soon, because I'm working on a way to get us out of here," Castle promised.

Sal pulled at his collar. "Why is there no air in here? I need air!" He rose and headed for the windows as Castle grabbed him, trying to pull him back."

"I'm going to shoot, I'm going to shoot!" Doctor Quinn shouted, training her gun on them.

"Don't shoot!" Castle pleaded as Sal fell to the ground convulsing, startling Quinn. The sound of gunfire echoed through the bank.

Beckett grabbed for her headset as it came alive with a call from Trapper John. "Kate," your boy's had a little accident and we have a little problem." The blood drained from Beckett's face.


	57. Chapter 57

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 57

Beckett tried to swallow away the constriction in her throat. "What happened?"

"One of the hostages had a seizure and your lover boy tried to help him out. No good deed goes unpunished, Kate," Trapper taunted. "Normally I wouldn't care, but the other hostages are getting a little freaked out, which makes things a little more annoying for me, so I'm going to make you a one time only offer. I'm going to let you send an EMT in here to get seizure man out and maybe patch up your pal a little and for my generosity you will have our bus here in half an hour."

Monfriez shook his head vigorously and mouthed, "forty-five minutes out."

"It's not enough time," Beckett protested."The bus is on its way, but we can't get it here that fast."

"Well, Kate," Trapper sneered, "you're going to have to make it get here. That's my offer. Take it or I could just put your friend out of his misery right now. Your choice."

"No, I'll take the offer," Beckett agreed desperately as the call ended.

"We're going to have to storm the bank," Petersen insisted. "He's going to start shooting hostages before the bus can get here."

"Sir, why don't we use the request for an EMT to our advantage to get eyes on the suspects?" Beckett suggested. "We can send in a cop with tactical and first aid training who can report back about the situation."

"Detective Beckett, if you're suggesting that I send you in there, forget it," Petersen told her. "Even if I was sure that you'd be thinking straight, which I'm not, they might recognize your voice and know you were a cop."

Beckett drew a breath. "Okay, not me. There's a man on my team. He's former special ops and worked with ESU. He can do it."

"If he can get ready fast enough, we'll use him," Petersen agreed.

Beckett opened the door of the trailer and called to Esposito, who was leaving with Ryan. "We just got an address on Gideon and Agnes Fields. We were going to check it out."

"Let Ryan go, he can call Karpowski to go with him. I have something else I need you to do, Javi."

Esposito saw the look on Beckett's face and immediately waved Ryan on his way. "What do you need?"

Esposito, in an NYFD uniform, stood arms outstretched, while Huxtable checked him for weapons. As soon as he was permitted in, he made his way to Castle, who was sitting gingerly holding his arm, on the floor next to a semiconscious Sal Martino. With a slight shake of his head, Esposito warned Castle against giving any signs of recognition. "What's going on here, bro?" Esposito asked.

"This guy had a seizure," Castle explained. "He has a medical alert bracelet for epilepsy. He grabbed my arm as he was falling while one of the robbers was shooting. Something happened to my shoulder."

"What? Were you hit?" Esposito asked.

Castle shook his head. "I think that might have hurt less. It's like he pulled my arm out of the socket."

Esposito felt Castle's injury with unaccustomed gentleness. He'd seen similar injuries in combat. "He dislocated your shoulder, man. I can pop it back in, but it's gonna hurt like hell."

"It hurts like hell now," Castle told him before lowering his voice as if wincing in pain. "They have C4."

Esposito nodded almost imperceptibly. "On the count of three," Esposito instructed. "One, two …." Esposito pulled hard, expecting Castle's signature high pitched scream.

Castle just gritted his teeth and slowly drew a breath. "Thanks."

Esposito pulled a sling out of his kit and put it on Castle. "Enough with him," Huxtable ordered. "Get that other guy out of here. Now!"

Esposito helped a groaning Sal Martino onto the gurney he'd wheeled into the bank, and was urged out the door by Huxtable. Beckett ran up to Esposito as the real EMTs took charge of Martino. "Whoa Beckett, chill. Castle's okay. He didn't get shot. He just got hurt helping that guy. I don't think he'll be swinging one of those nerdy light sabers for awhile, but he's cool."

Beckett put her arms around Esposito. "Thank God!"

"Don't start jumping up and down yet," Esposito cautioned. "Castle told me there's C4 in there."

Beckett closed her eyes and bit her lip. "You'd better brief Petersen."

* * *

><p>Petersen shook his head in disgust. "There's no way we can storm that building now, not with C4 in there. If they don't shoot the hostages, they'll blow them up. We'll have to take them out when they go for the bus."<p>

"Sir, there's no time," Beckett protested.

"Well you'll have to get Trapper to give us time," Petersen pronounced.

* * *

><p>Castle had painfully made his way back to his place on the floor beside his mother when, while holding a phone, Trapper put a gun under Castle's chin. "Don't you touch him!" Martha yelled, reaching for her son.<p>

"Hold her back!" Castle shouted to Davenport. "I've got this!"

"Kate, I've got a gun to your fiancé's throat," Trapper informed Beckett with a hint of glee. "Where's my bus?"

"It's coming," Beckett promised. "I just need more time."

"You've got two minutes, Kate," Trapper warned.

"I need twenty minutes," Beckett argued. "I don't control traffic."

"Now you've got one minute Kate," Trapper announced, audibly cocking his gun.

"No," Beckett insisted, sweat dripping into her eyes, "I have twenty, because if you pull that trigger, I will walk through the doors of that bank and personally put a bullet in your head."

Trapper laughed and lowered his gun. "Alright Kate, you've got twenty." Trapper ended the call.

"You know your lady's a hellcat," Trapper observed to Castle with obvious amusement.

"You don't know the half of it," Castle assured him. "She never gives up until she get's what she wants."

Trapper winked. "That must be fun. I'm gonna kill you last, give me time to picture it. Bet she's a fine looking woman too, huh?"

"You have no idea," Castle replied.

"We're all set, boss," Howser reported.

"Okay, we're moving to our next phase," Trapper announced.

"What are you going to do?" Castle asked.

Trapper smirked. "You'll figure it out." Huxtable and Quinn began to bind the wrists of the hostages with plastic ties. Castle groaned as Quinn jerked his injured arm.

* * *

><p>"Sir, the bus is five minutes out," Monfriez reported.<p>

"Good, ESU reports they've got everyone in position," Petersen announced. "These jerks go for that bus they'll never know what hit them."

Beckett's stomach roiled. "Sir, something just doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?" Petersen asked.

"Trapper John didn't ask for anything in exchange for the extra twenty minutes. Why didn't he ask for something?" Beckett questioned.

"Take the win, Detective," Petersen replied dismissively. "We'll..."

The trailer was rocked by the shock wave from an explosion. Terrified, Beckett opened the door to see clouds of dust billowing from the shattered windows of the bank. "Move in! Move in!" Petersen shouted into his walkie talkie.

Beckett ran to catch up with the armored squad entering the bank. Gun raised, she made her way through the thick white powder hanging in the air. "Castle! Castle! Rick!"

The sound of coughing penetrated the cloud. The voice Beckett heard was hoarse, but unmistakably Castle. "Kate, over here."


	58. Chapter 58

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 58

Beckett ran toward the sound, pulling open the door of the bank cage where the hostages had been confined. Even there, dust still drifted from the air, coating the shell shocked victims huddled against the walls in a thin coating of white. Coughing filled the room as Beckett crouched in front of Castle gazing at his face. Gently she brushed the powder from his cheek. "I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again."

"I'm not sure what you said. My ears are still ringing," Castle told her. "But if it was something about seeing me again, I'm glad to see you too."

Beckett leaned down to kiss him, but felt the grit against her lips. "Later," she promised, swiping it from her own mouth with the back of her hand. Pulling out her knife, she cut the tie around his wrists, wincing at his groan at the sudden release of tension on his injured shoulder.

"I know you two only have eyes for each other, but you know, he's not the only one here." Martha piped up, offering her wrists.

"Sorry Martha," Beckett apologized as the squad spread out to take care of the other hostages.

"Babe, I really think you should go to the hospital," Beckett urged as Castle sat on a gurney, an oxygen mask easing his breathing through the residual dust. "The other hostages are getting checked out, even your mother, although she seemed feisty enough."

Castle pulled off the mask with his good arm and gave a weak chuckle. "I think Mother wants to stay with the bank manager. There may be a budding romance there. But no way I'm going. There are too many loose ends to this story. At least I can hear now. What happened to the robbers?"

"Petersen said they had a plan to use the C4 to escape to an old subway tunnel, but it blew prematurely," Beckett explained. "There are a lot of body parts."

Castle shook his head vociferously. "No way. Those guys were pros, mercs from their accents, and C4 is a very stable explosive. They wouldn't set it off by accident. And what about the safe deposit box? None of this makes sense."

Ryan returned to the cordoned off area around the bank to update Esposito, before they both approached Castle and Beckett. "How're you doing man?" Ryan asked.

"Okay, thanks in no small part to your partner," Castle acknowledged, looking at Esposito. "Thanks for reducing the shoulder. The EMTs said you did a great job."

"No sweat, bro," Esposito replied.

"We have more pieces to the puzzle, but they still don't make sense," Ryan reported. "The bank records showed both Agnes and Gideon Fields regularly accessing the safety deposit box, but Gideon Fields had been dead for two years. Karpowski and I found Agnes dead, and she'd been that way for at least a couple of days. There's no immediate family. Agnes' daughter and grandson were killed in a boating accident a year ago. There's a former son-in-law, Ron Brandt." Ryan held up a DMV photo on his phone. "I couldn't contact him. He might be out of the country. He does a lot of military contracting. I left a message."

Castle stared at the photo on the phone. "Wait a minute, that's the hostage who had the seizure, Sal Martino!"

Esposito looked at the image, "That's him."

Beckett was already pulling out her phone to call the hospital. "Martino checked himself out against medical advice as soon as he got there."

"He set up the whole thing," Castle realized. "They were getting into that safe deposit box for him. He had contacts with mercs and access to C4 through his business. It all fits."

"But why?" Ryan asked in confusion.

"Wait a minute, Ryan did you say the wife and son were dead?" Castle questioned.

"Yeah, boating accident," Ryan reiterated.

"He said his son's name is Connor," Castle recalled.

Ryan nodded.

"He sure didn't talk about him like he was dead. His desperation to see him, I don't think that was an act," Castle related. "The cards and letters from the safe deposit box. Somehow they're tied to Connor. Can we go to the precinct? Maybe we can figure out how."

"Babe, how about if Ryan and Esposito go ahead and start the research on Brandt?" Beckett proposed. "We can swing by the loft. You can clean up and we can meet them at the precinct to work this out."

"Kate," Castle protested.

Beckett smiled enticingly. "You are a lot more kissable without that crap on your lips."

Castle laughed before coughing again. "Okay. Deal."

* * *

><p>"Anything?" Castle called as he walked stiffly with Beckett from the elevator to the murder board Ryan and Esposito had set up.<p>

Ryan handed Beckett two folders. "There's a file on Ron Brandt and one on Tanya Brandt."

Castle looked over Beckett's shoulder as she opened them. "Oh God," he sighed at a photograph of a badly beaten Tanya Brandt. "Domestic abuse, even after the divorce. That explains it. Look, every time Tanya tried to get help from the police, it looks like Brandt had the juice to get the charges dropped. The system failed her and she got so desperate she faked her death and Connor's to get away."

"But how does the safety deposit box figure into it?" Esposito asked.

"It was a dead drop, communication between Tanya and her mother," Castle surmised, "but safer, because it was locked inside a bank. Tanya would send cards and letters to someone who posed as Gideon Fields, then he would put them in the box to be picked up by Agnes. A scheme worthy of one of my books, but Ron Brandt caught on somehow. The robbers gave Ron the info from the box when he took his bathroom break, then he faked a seizure to get out of the bank. He must have pulled me down on purpose so Trapper could use me as an extra bargaining chip with Beckett."

"Castle, if he has that information, he must be on his way to find Tanya and Connor," Beckett realized. "We need to find out who Tanya was sending those letters to so we can find her."

"So what do we know?" Castle pondered as Ryan picked up a marker. "To pose as Gideon Fields, he had to be sixtyish. White?"

Ryan nodded. "And someone Tanya felt she could trust," Ryan added. "I think I know." Ryan held up a church program with a picture of a balding man. "The priest who presided at the memorial for Tanya and Connor, Father Sean McCasky."

"So put those twelve years of Catholic School you're always bitching about to work and call the man," Esposito urged his partner.

"Fourteen Caskadillo Street in Ithaca." Ryan reported, putting down his phone.

Castle looked at his watch. "That's a four hour drive from here. Brandt could be almost there by now, or if he took a private plane, he'd be there already."

Beckett picked up her phone. "We need to get the locals to Tanya and Connor, now."

Beckett's line to the police in Ithaca was on speaker, but on hold. Castle sat in his chair at her desk, grasping her hand as she sat hunched over the phone. Ryan and Esposito stood anxiously behind them. Finally the news came through. Brandt had injured Tanya enough to require stitches, but she would be all right. Connor was frightened but uninjured and Brandt was in custody.

Esposito slapped Ryan on the back. "C'mon bro, let's go pick 'em up."

"Ithaca?" Ryan asked skeptically, but he followed Esposito to the elevator."

"Castle, you're out of excuses. Hospital!" Beckett ordered. "Your mother is probably waiting for you there."

"You realize you just gave me another excuse not to go," Castle quipped.

Beckett glared. "All right, Castle agreed meekly.

* * *

><p>Beckett flicked on the lights in the loft. "I can't believe your mother's not back yet. Once the hospital said you'd be fine after some treatment, she and Mark Davenport took off to have a celebratory dinner. That was hours ago."<p>

Castle smiled. "If I know Mother, we may not see her until she does the walk of shame. We could take advantage of her absence, especially with Alexis still in Paris, to do some celebrating of our own."

"Castle, aren't you exhausted?" Beckett asked, astonished. "What about your shoulder?"

"It hurts, but at least I'm alive to feel it," Castle replied. "For a while I wasn't sure I would be. So, my beautiful kick ass detective, you think you can be gentle with me?"

Beckett softly brushed her lips against his. "I'll give it a shot."


	59. Chapter 59

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 59

Sounds of an explosion blasted from Castle's office. Castle and Beckett looked at each other sheepishly when they realized they were both crouching behind the couch. Castle strode into his office as nonchalantly as he could. "Watching one of your old movies, Mother?"

Martha turned to him, her face white. "Richard, I'm watching the news. A bomb just went off at the Take Over Wall Street demonstration in Boylan Plaza."

"How bad?" Castle asked Martha as Beckett's phone buzzed.

"Castle!" Beckett called. "We need to get to the precinct. Every cop in the city has just been called up."

"Castle, are you going to be able to handle this?" Beckett asked as she expertly threaded her way through Manhattan traffic.

"I'll admit, when I heard that explosion, I was right back in that bank. But Beckett," Castle pointed out, "I wasn't the only one behind that couch. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Castle," Beckett insisted. "I'm trained for this. You're not."

"Beckett, I've been following you around to murder scenes for almost four years. I'm not about to step back from this one." Castle reached across the console to put a comforting hand on her thigh. "We'll handle this together, like always."

* * *

><p>The mantle of authority had never seemed so heavy on Victoria Gates' shoulders. Five were dead, twenty-eight were injured and the whole city was in shock. Even with the Feds taking the lead, she would be coordinating with all the other precincts to interview witnesses, work with family members and try to make some sort of sense to what seemed totally senseless. She squared her shoulders and addressed the mass of assembled cops. "Listen up people. We're still piecing together what happened here but what I can tell you is that the FBI and Homeland Security will be taking point on this investigation. NYPD will act in a support capacity. Our first assignment is to see if any of the victims were targeted because of their involvement in the protest. Uniforms are bringing families to the precinct as we speak so let's go hold some hands and do our jobs. Detective Beckett, I want you to take the lead in the interview process."<p>

"Yes Sir." Beckett acknowledged.

* * *

><p>The man opposite Beckett made a little choking sound as Beckett gently placed a photograph in front of him. "Mr. Levine, I know this is difficult. I understand that you worked very closely with Jesse Friedman."<p>

Levine swiped at his eyes. "It was more than that. He was a friend. A comrade in arms, you know? Jesse was a recruiter. When attendance dropped a couple of weeks back and even I thought it was time to pack up, Jesse threw my favorite quote back at me, the one about sinning by silence."

Beckett completed the quote. "To sin by silence when we should protest makes cowards of men."

"That's the one," Levine agreed.

* * *

><p>Beckett joined Castle as he sat at a table in the break room, stirring his now cold coffee without drinking it. She reached for his hand. "You okay?"<p>

"This case," Castle confessed, "it kind of gets to me. For all the people in the plaza, for all the people out there," he said, indicating the families crying at desks in the bullpen, "everything just changed in an instant. It makes me think about the bank, you know? If the C4 had gone off any sooner, Simone's husband would have lost his wife and baby. All the people who just came in to work, or to cash a check, they would have been gone in a flash."

"And I would have lost you," Beckett added. "But we can't think about that right now. If we can't figure out who did this, they could strike again."

"Beckett, can you really just push your feelings aside like that?" Castle asked, trying to hold her gaze.

Beckett looked away. "Castle I have to. This is my job. If you need to take some time, I understand, but I can't do that. Neither can Ryan or Esposito or any of the other cops here."

"Then I'm here with you," Castle promised. "Whatever it takes."

"Yo," Esposito called from the doorway. "Captain's gathering the troops again."

Gates stood at the murder board. "Now that it appears that this attack was not directed at any specific individual, we've got a new assignment from the FBI." She tacked a photo to the board. "We all know where to bomb went off. It was here," she indicated, pointing to the photo, "next to the lamppost. The FBI just recovered this photo from a protester's cell phone. It's of the same location forty-seven seconds before the explosion. That can only mean one thing. That bomb was placed here within that forty-seven second time period. Our task is to interview all witnesses who were present at Boylan plaza, even if we've interviewed them before. We're looking for anyone who saw what went on by this lamppost before the blast. This officer," she said, nodding at a uniform passing out folders, "is handing out lists of all the people we need to question."

"Sir, there are over three hundred names on this list," Beckett noted. "How do you recommend that we proceed?"

"We bring in more shifts," Gates advised. "Someone on that list saw the bomb being planted within our forty-seven second window. We find that person, we find the bomber."

"Can you believe that?" Castle asked as yet another witness left the interview lounge. "All those people get blown up and she was upset that some guy in a hoodie bumped into her and she spilled coffee on her new blouse."

"It might be useful, Castle," Beckett observed. "If the guy was in that much of a hurry, he might have known about the bomb and been trying to get away from the blast. He's a possible suspect."

"In this city, a guy in a black hoodie doesn't narrow it down much," Castle observed.

"No it doesn't," Beckett agreed. "But we have a lot more people to talk to. We may get more information."

"You want more coffee?" Castle asked.

Beckett nodded tiredly.

* * *

><p>Coffee was fighting a losing battle with fatigue as Beckett lost focus for a moment while she and Castle interviewed yet another witness. "Wait, go back to the Middle Eastern Man with the box. You said he appeared nervous and sweaty?"<p>

The woman nodded.

"And he was headed toward the lamppost?" Castle asked, suddenly alert.

"Yeah," the woman confirmed.

Castle and Beckett looked hopefully at each other.

"Do you remember his face well enough to work with a sketch artist?" Beckett inquired.

The woman nodded again. "Anything I can do to help."

"Beckett that sketch is going to take a while. You should take a break," Castle urged. "I could get pizza. Hell, I could get pizza for the whole bullpen. I'm sure they can use it, I know I can."

The corners of Beckett's mouth threatened to turn upward for the first time since the explosion. "Castle sometimes I don't know how this place ever got along without you."

Castle returned the smile. "Yeah, I know. I'm indispensable. I shall return."


	60. Chapter 60

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 60

"West Side Wally, back by popular demand," Esposito announced. The scruffy but smiling homeless man reached for one of the slices of pizza on Esposito's desk.

"Come on Kojak," Wally protested, his mouth full. "I've helped you with a case before. You know I prefer West Side."

"Okay West Side," Esposito agreed, showing him a sketch of the Middle Eastern man. "Did you ever see this man in the plaza?"

"No, that guy's not familiar. Then again, lots of people. Lots of faces." Wally pointed on a map lying next to the pizza. "Plus I was over here, near the dumpsters. That's my usual spot, not by the coffee truck. I don't care for the smell."

Esposito tried to ignore the whiff of dumpster drifting from Wally. Clearly he'd spent a lot of time near one. "That puts you fifty feet away from where the bomb went off. Did you have a clear view of this lamp post?" he asked, indicating the spot.

"Not really man," Wally confessed, reaching for another slice of pizza. "And you know I always try to help Johnny Law."

Ryan tried another angle. "Did you notice anything out of the ordinary in the minute before the explosion? Anyone suspicious?"

"As a matter of a fact, I did," Wally recalled. "Beethoven came from behind the dumpster and conducted the Fifth Symphony for me."

"You saw Beethoven? A composer who's been dead for 200 years was in Boylan Plaza this afternoon?" Esposito questioned, barely hiding his disgust at the waste of time.

Ignoring Esposito's skepticism, Wally nodded emphatically. "Oh yeah. And I bet the deaf bastard's behind all of this."

Ryan cleared his throat. "Westside, are you on medications of any kind?"

Wally drew himself up, fixing Ryan with an injured stare. "I don't see how that's relevant."

* * *

><p>Gates threw her glasses on her desk. "What do you mean we have no leads? What about the Middle Eastern man?"<p>

"We interviewed him, Sir," Beckett responded. "He cleared."

"Yeah, that box he was carrying," Castle added. "Full of Chinese takeout. The most dangerous thing in there was MSG." Castle took a step back under the force of Gates' glare.

Beckett stepped protectively in front of Castle. "The fact is, Sir, we've interviewed ninety-four people and we've got nothing to show for it."

Gates slowly sank back in her chair. "This is not the news I was hoping for, especially since the FBI sent this over." Gates handed a sheet of paper to Beckett. "It was emailed to two other Takeover locations an hour ago."

"You were warned to stop the protests," Beckett read. "You didn't listen. Start listening now or today's bombing will be just the beginning."

Castle read over her shoulder. "He's going to hit another protest."

"Sir, somebody saw something within the forty-seven second window, but our problem is that they're mixed in within all these people who saw absolutely nothing," Beckett explained.

"It's like trying to find Waldo in a sea of Waldos," Castle added.

"Mr. Castle, I take it from your expression you have a proposal to fix that?" Gates inquired impatiently.

Beckett thought it better that she be the one to respond. "Captain, we need the FBI to be more forthcoming. By holding back evidence they're hamstringing us here. I don't know if there's some glory hound running this investigation or what, but it's not helpful. If you could get them to give us the video they have that was shot of the plaza, we could just see who was closest to that lamppost instead of going through endless useless interviews. We've already wasted way too much time and we have families out there who need answers."

"All right," Gates agreed, "I'll go down there, but you're right, there are politics. There are people with ambitions who want to be seen as heroes. I'll do my best to cut through all that, but in the meantime keep working. Maybe you'll get lucky, and we need a plan B."

Beckett sighed as Gates left. "She doesn't seem very optimistic about getting that footage."

"Then we work on a plan B," Castle responded.

"More interviews, Castle?" Beckett asked.

"Of a sort," he replied. You know, the witnesses closest to the bomb weren't on our list. Maybe the dead really do tell tales. Anyway, if nothing else, we should probably bring some comfort food to Lanie. She's probably even more buried under all of this than our guys are."

As with the police, the morgue had brought in extra help, but Lanie was clearly on the edge of being overwhelmed. "I just saw a reporter in reception. Have security get him out of here," she commanded. "I don't want him bothering the victim's families."

She caught sight of Beckett and Castle. Castle handed her a container of hot chicken soup. "For your soul," he explained.

Lanie breathed in the aromatic vapors. "Thank you, and it's good to see friendly faces. The FBI has been up in mine all night."

Castle looked through the glass into the overcrowded autopsy room. "All from the explosion?"

Lanie nodded sadly. "Official COD multiple blunt force trauma."

"Actually," Castle offered, "we were wondering if there was anything on any of the bodies that might lead us to who did this."

Lanie snorted in disgust. "I tried to tell this stuff to the FBI guys but they seem to only put faith in their own lab guys. Sometimes the territoriality gets ridiculous." Putting her soup on the desk, she led them to a body in the next room. "Meet Jesse Friedman."

"We heard about him from one of the witnesses," Beckett commented. "He was as close as the protesters had to a leader, their recruiter."

"He was also the one closest to the blast and we found bits of this embedded all over his skin." Lanie held up a petrie dish.

Castle glazed at the tiny fragments. "Blue fabric?"

Lanie nodded. "Lab ID'd it as canvas."

"So the canvas was part of whatever contained the bomb," Beckett concluded.

"Duffel or suitcase, maybe a backpack?" Castle suggested. "Someone with a backpack would blend right in with the protesters."

Beckett impulsively hugged her girlfriend. "This is a huge break! Now we know we're looking for someone carrying some kind of blue bag."

As they left the morgue, Beckett grabbed Castle and standing on tiptoe in flatter than usual boots, kissed him. "In no way consider this a protest," Castle responded, "but what was that for?"

"For coming up with plan B," Beckett told him, adding another short kiss. "But now we have to review the statements to see if anyone mentioned a bag, unless the captain manages to get the footage from the FBI."

"I can think of something else we can look at. Mother was watching the news before the explosion, something I'm sure we embarrassingly both remember." Castle and Beckett exchanged wry smiles. "The station - every station, has probably been running it repeatedly since then. Hell, it's probably on YouTube by now. We should see if there's any sign of blue canvas." Castle pulled out his phone. "It's there, right under 'Most Popular.' We should watch it on a bigger screen where we can see detail."

Beckett took a second for one more very quick kiss. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>"Castle, you've re-watched that at least twenty times, there's no blue canvas anything. What are you still looking for?" Beckett demanded as Castle stood glued in front of the screen in the tech room.<p>

Castle shook his head. "I don't know Beckett. There's just something wrong with this. It's niggling. I just can't put my finger on it. But it will come to me."

"Let me know if it does," Beckett told him. "But right now Captain Gates is back. She says she has something."


	61. Chapter 61

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 61

Castle and Beckett joined Ryan and Gates at the screen in her office. "Did you get the video from the plaza, Sir?" Beckett inquired hopefully.

"Not yet," Gates answered with a spark of enthusiasm in her eyes. "But what I've got here is even better. Data from wireless carriers shows us all the activated cell phones in Boylan Plaza."

Red dots appeared as Ryan manipulated the feed. "This is Boylan plaza right before the explosion," he explained. "Each red dot represents the GPS position of a cell phone."

Beckett's eyes widened in appreciation. "How did you get this?"

"I called in a favor from a friend in Homeland Security." Gates replied.

"That's a damn good friend," Castle commented. "So we can see where everyone was and know who the cell phones belonged to?"

"That's the idea," Gates confirmed. "It can even show us where everyone was in real time. Ryan, start running it."

"The dots that disappeared, that's the explosion," Beckett observed.

"Wait a second!" Castle exclaimed. "It was before the bomb went off. Ryan could you take it back ten seconds? That dot right there! Right before the explosion it goes to the blast site, waits a second and then rushes away."

"You're right, Mr. Castle. Ryan, bring up the I.D. of that phone," Gates ordered.

"Cell phone's registered to an Andrew Haynes," Ryan reported.

"Where does the GPS put him right now?" Gates asked excitedly.

Ryan punched up the information and shook his head. "No signal. The phone's either off or disabled."

"Wait a minute," Beckett recalled. "Haynes sounds familiar. He was on our witness interview schedule. Let me check." Beckett hurriedly retrieved a clipboard from her desk. "He was due in the precinct twenty minutes ago. Let me check with the desk," she proposed, picking up her phone. "Bastard's in the building and he's wearing a black hoodie with an anti-protest symbol on it."

"You sure you want to do this alone?" Castle asked as Beckett headed for the interrogation room where Haynes waited, eagerly eating a doughnut.

Beckett smiled reassuringly. "I'm gonna run a little number on him, Castle. It'll be fine. Watch and see." Beckett extended a friendly hand to Haynes. "Hi, I'm Detective Kate Beckett, Mr. Haynes. Thank you for coming in."

"It's about time you brought me in here," Haynes replied. "If I had to rub elbows with those whiny little trouble makers downstairs any longer, I might have done something drastic."

Beckett smiled with a hint of flirtation. "Easy," Ryan cautioned Castle as they watched through the glass.

"Coffee?" Beckett asked. Haynes nodded and she poured cups for both of them. "Really, Mr. Haynes, I wouldn't blame you. You'd think they spend their time better getting a job."

"A free thinker," Haynes observed. "I like that."

"Thanks, but you know, my personal feelings aside, I have to investigate this incident, so I just have to ask you a few questions about the bombing. So," she asked, spreading a map in front of him, "just before the explosion, where were you?"

Haynes pointed. "Here."

Beckett regarded the spot he indicated, noting that it didn't jibe with the GPS data. "So you were about a hundred feet from the blast site."

Haynes leaned across the table. "Yeah."

Beckett gazed at him, flipping the ends of her hair. "And what were you doing there?"

"Oh, pretty much getting hassled for letting them know what bullshit they were spouting. I was passing out flyers when this guy grabs me. I think it was one of their leaders. Fairy was wearing a Beethoven t-shirt," Haynes sneered.

"So just so I'm clear, you were trying to educate the protesters until the bomb went off?" Beckett asked admiringly.

"Yeah. I was trying to give them a reality check. You know they're all up in arms about the greedy corporations. Who do they think are creating jobs? They're a bunch of silver spoon hypocrites. I mean half of them couldn't even tell me what they were protesting against. Jerks!"

"Right," Beckett agreed nodding vigorously, "and stopping them would actually be a service to this country."

"Yeah," Haynes remarked proudly. "It would be item number one on any true patriot's to-do list."

Castle's fists clenched as Beckett gazed at Haynes adoringly. "And you are a true patriot aren't you."

"Damn right!" Haynes returned.

"And that's why you put the bomb in the plaza," Beckett concluded.

Haynes jumped up from the table, startled at the turn of the questioning. "Wait, no! I didn't have anything to do with setting the bomb."

"Mr. Haynes, sit down" Beckett ordered coldly. Haynes shakily returned to his chair. "Your cell phone was at the explosion site."

"What, no!" Haynes protested. "I lost my cell phone."

"Really," Beckett responded throwing papers in front of him, "then how to you explain these? Threats of future bombings that were emailed to Takeover offices. Those emails were traced to you."

Haynes wiped clammy palms against his pants. "I want my lawyer now."

* * *

><p>Castle brought a carefully crafted latte to Beckett's desk. "Hey, what's wrong? You got the guy, although I admit the way you did it gave me some bad moments."<p>

Beckett shook her head. "I don't know Castle. The phone wasn't on Haynes and it wasn't at his apartment."

"He could have ditched it," Castle suggested.

"Why would he?" Beckett asked. "He had no idea we were on to him. Also his apartment and his place of business were searched. No sign of any explosives and no record that he ever bought any. None of the witnesses along the route to the blast can I.D. him. He refuses to confess. We don't have enough to convict him on anything except sending the emails, and that might even be all he did. He could have just been taking advantage of a tragedy to further his own twisted agenda."

Ryan came running to Beckett's desk. "Hey, we got a signal from Haynes' phone."

Outside the door of a rundown apartment, Beckett called Hayne's phone. A Ted Nugent ring tone could be heard from within. It only took one kick to break in the door to find Bobby Lopez trying to decline the call.

* * *

><p>"Castle, I'm going to do this one alone too," Beckett told him as they watched a sweaty Bobby Lopez through the glass. "Scared as he was, he was looking at my boobs on the way in. I think it might give me the edge."<p>

"I can't say I don't find your tactics disquieting, today," Castle admitted. "But for the good of all, I will put my feelings aside. I can get my own look later."

Beckett smiled. "I think you know them pretty well, but if you need to refresh your memory... We can see about that later. Right now I need to get this done."

"I know you do and you will," Castle assured her. "I'll be waiting,"

"Robert Lopez, that's your name, right Bobby?" Beckett asked gently. Lopez sat mutely, but Beckett continued. "You're interesting to me Bobby. Actually I know quite a bit about you. I know where you live. I know you don't have a record. I know you're not a member of any political party. And when my team finishes searching your place, I'll know more. Things will go a lot easier for you if you talk to me before they bring back the evidence. I can help you if you talk to me now." Lopez remained silent. "Would you like me to refresh your memory?" Beckett spread a map in front of Bobby. "You were standing here, in front of a lamppost. You had a blue backpack. You dropped it and you started running. Then the backpack exploded."

Lopez flinched.

"That explosion killed five people, Bobby, and injured twenty-eight more. Those people never did anything to you, Bobby. They were just there. Why did you kill them, hurt them, Bobby? Why did you plant that bomb?"

"I didn't do what you're sayin'" Bobby protested.

"Witnesses saw you drop that backpack, Bobby."

"It wasn't mine," Bobby protested.

"So you admit having it?" Beckett pressed.

Bobby shook his head. "No that's not what I meant."

"You just said it wasn't yours," Beckett prodded.

Bobby's cuffs pulled tight as he squirmed at the table. "That's because you got me all confused."

"Did you have it or not?" Beckett reiterated. "It's a simple question."

"I don't know," Bobby claimed desperately.

"Did someone put you up to this, Bobby? Did someone give you the backpack? Did you know what was in it? Talk to me, Bobby," Beckett insisted.

Bobby drew back in his chair. "I don't know. I don't remember."

"How could you not remember?" Beckett asked incredulously.

Bobby groped for an explanation. "It was the trauma of the explosion, a traumatic amnesia thing."

Beckett jumped to her feet. "Trauma Bobby? Don't tell me about trauma! I was shot in the chest. I saw my fiancé shot. I can still feel the force of that bullet. I can still see him bleeding. It's in front of my eyes every day. Those memories don't go away, Bobby. They're there, at the edge of every moment. I remember and so do you."

Beckett left interrogation, slamming the door behind her. Castle caught her in his arms. He could see the pain in her eyes as tears filled his. "Oh Kate, is that true? What you feel? Why didn't you tell me?" He drew her tightly against his chest, whispering into her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."


	62. Chapter 62

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 62

Even as her cheek was pressed against his chest, Beckett reached up to touch Castle's face, feeling the wetness against her fingertips. "Oh Castle, no, no, Babe it's not your fault, just that bastard Bracken. If it weren't for you I wouldn't be here. My God, you almost died for me."

"I-I just thought you were all right," Castle stammered. A wan smile ghosted on his lips. "Except for ducking behind the couch with me. You've been working with Dr. Burke, we both have. I really thought things were going to be okay."

Beckett brushed back the strands of hair that had fallen in his face. "They are. I think maybe the bank was a little setback, for both of us, but they are. I've been through therapy before. I know how much work it takes. I just need more time – and you. I can't make through without you."

Castle brought his lips to hers. "I can't make it without you, either."

A loud cough sounded behind them and they turned to see a slightly red faced Ryan. "Uh, I have the report on the search of Bobby Lopez's apartment. Cell phones, credit cards, wallets thrown in the dumpster, but no explosives, no bomb makings of any kind, and no political materials."

Beckett shook her head in disbelief. "That doesn't make sense! We know he put the bomb by that lamppost. What the hell happened?"

"Also," Esposito added, joining the group, "the FBI called with an update. The device was a pipe bomb, but here's the weird part. It wasn't packed with nails, bearings, or anything else."

"That's strange," Beckett pondered, snapping immediately back into detective mode. "Usually bombers use projectiles to maximize damage."

"Maybe someone had another motive," Castle suggested. "But look, the stuff that was found in Bobby's apartment, he's a thief, right? Maybe he stole the backpack from the real bomber and didn't know there was a bomb in it. Espo, was the bomb remotely triggered?"

Esposito nodded. "Cell phone or garage door opener Whoever did it would have to have been close, within a hundred feet, just out of blast range."

"And it blew right after Bobby put it down by the lamppost," Beckett added. "Then Bobby would know who the real bomber was! I need to talk to him again, but he asked for a lawyer. We need to get one here, fast."

* * *

><p>"Castle, are you watching that news clip again?" Beckett asked as Castle stood in front of the screen in Tech while awaiting the arrival of Bobby's Legal Aid attorney.<p>

"Yeah, Beckett. I still have the feeling there's something wrong here."

"Well they just called from downstairs. Bobby's lawyer is on the way up," Beckett informed him. "We should have some answers soon."

The Legal Aide attorney, Bertha Blankenship, was young but sharp. She quickly proposed immunity for her client on all charges of theft and any involvement in the bombing, in exchange for information on the bomber. Unfortunately both Federal and local charges were involved which meant a series of difficult phone calls for Captain Gates, who finally informed Beckett that further interrogation of Bobby was a go.

This time Beckett had Castle at her side. Bobby confidently lounged in his seat next to his lawyer. "So, Bobby, you're a thief," Beckett began.

Bobby looked at Bertha, who nodded.

"Yeah, I pretty much am," Bobby admitted.

"That's why you attended the Takeover protest?" Beckett inquired.

Bobby smiled. "All those people were hanging out full of peace and brotherhood. They didn't have a clue."

"It's like an all you can steal buffet," Castle offered.

"You got that right," Bobby confirmed.

"So why didn't you admit that from the start?" Beckett asked.

Bobby looked at her in disbelief. "What? Admit to a cop who likes me for murder that I'm a thief? Amnesia seemed like a much better plan."

"So you lifted Andrew Haynes' phone which made it look like you planted the bomb," Beckett continued.

"Who's Andrew Haynes?" Bobby asked.

"Obnoxious guy handing out flyers," Castle put in.

"Oh him," Bobby recalled. "Real asshole. I took his phone for fun."

A smile threatened on Castle's lips, but vanished under a look from Beckett. "Never mind Haynes," she pressed on. "Talk to me about the backpack. How did you get it?"

"I didn't have to take it off anyone. It was just sitting between two dumpsters. I lifted it," Bobby confessed. "But then I heard a cell go off, dum dum dum dum, like the beginning of that Beethoven symphony. Guy in a Beethoven t-shirt answers it, says 'it's a go.'"

"You know Beethoven?" Castle asked in surprise.

"Hey, I'm a thief, I'm not stupid," Bobby replied offended. "I saw the movie about the dog. Anyway, then the guy in the Beethoven t-shirt gets off phone and starts chasing me, yelling at me to give it back. I just put it down by the lamp post and took off. He didn't follow me. I saw him pick up the backpack and start to make a call again, right before the backpack blew. He was on the ground with all those other people and I just got as far away as I could."

"The guy who took the backpack, was this him?" Beckett asked, holding up a picture of Jesse Friedman.

Bobby nodded. "That was the guy."

* * *

><p>Castle brought fresh coffee to Beckett at her desk, as she was just putting down the phone. "Unis found research on bombs at Jesse Friedman's apartment. So Jesse set the bomb that killed him," Beckett mused. "Castle tell me the story. How does this all make sense?"<p>

Lines formed between Castle's brows as he thought."Well, we know from Jesse's friend Levine, that Jesse was passionate about the Takeover movement. He was a recruiter. But attendance was falling off. Public interest was waning. He had to do something to get attention. But Jesse wasn't violent. He didn't want to hurt anyone. He builds a device with no projectiles and then he stows it between two dumpsters, so that they would absorb most of the blast. He arranges for someone to trigger it. That's who he was talking to on the phone, when he said it was a go. But the plan goes wrong when Bobby steals the backpack and takes it out into the crowd. Jesse tries to get it back. When he realizes he's too late, he tries to call off the detonation, but he's too late again. The bomb blows, taking Jesse with it."

"But Castle," Beckett wondered, "Why would Jesse have someone else trigger it? He could have kept his distance and triggered it himself."

"Oh!" Castle exclaimed with sudden realization. "I think I know. That's what was wrong with that newscast! She didn't even look even look. She knew what was going to happen."

* * *

><p>Leann West sat in the interrogation room watching the moment her cameraman was shooting before her broadcast went live. "Roger," the Leann on the screen acknowledged.<p>

Beckett hit pause. "You called Jesse Friedman, and that was you acknowledging that he gave you a go to detonate the bomb as you went on air. We know that he was talking to someone within a hundred feet and that his conversation was brief, just long enough for a call and a response - a call and a response from the one person who could broadcast the explosion on live T.V. and bring the protest the attention Jesse needed."

"Leann drew a shaky breath. "I wasn't on the phone with anyone, I was talking to my cameraman," Leann protested. "I already told the FBI the whole story."

"Yeah, except you left out a few details," Castle interjected.

"Like that fact that you knew Jesse Friedman. The two of you went to Hudson University together," Beckett added.

"Yeah, so did a lot of people," Leann argued.

"Castle ignored her and continued. "We're guessing that the two of you reunited at the protest. The sin of silence was something Jesse could never accept, but you couldn't accept a different kind of silence. He wanted his protest to make some noise, to matter. You had gone to the supervisors at the station several times to get some notice, better stories, a shot at the anchor desk. Your efforts fell on deaf ears. You wanted to make some noise too. So you arranged to detonate the bomb just as you started your broadcast. Neither of you meant to hurt anyone, just make a loud bang, maybe blow up a couple of dumpsters. But neither one of you could know that Bobby Lopez would grab the backpack after Jesse said you could blow it. Jesse tried to call you, to stop you, but you had already pushed the button. You had your scoop, but Jesse was dead."

Leann stood up. "That's insane. I'm not listening to anymore. I'm leaving."

Beckett slammed a cell phone down in front of her. "Recognize that? It was found in a storm drain."

Leann took a step back, wilting under Beckett's unrelenting glare. Beckett's words continued to hit home. "That's the burner you used to set off the bomb. Your fingerprints are all over it."

"How – how did you find that?" Leann asked weakly.

"By using GPS to trace the movements of your phone after the explosion," Beckett explained. "It led us right to it, and to you."

Leann sank back to her chair, all support gone from her limbs. "It was as Mr. Castle said. We never intended to hurt anyone. It was all horrible accident."

"Then why didn't you come forward when you realized what you had done."

"I thought about it. But I wanted to protect Jesse, preserve his memory," Leann insisted.

"And get a seat at the anchor desk," Castle offered skeptically. "That's really what your friend Jesse would have called sinning by silence."

* * *

><p>Beckett leaned against the comforting heat of Castle's chest on the couch in loft. "Gates just called. The FBI has taken Leann West into custody. She'll have the national stage she dreamed of, only she'll be the subject of the story. After that no one is likely to see her for a long time."<p>

"That's good, although the dead are still dead and the Takeback movement has been severely damaged. You know," Castle began hesitantly, "we've been talking a lot about silence. Kate, that's something I never want between us."

"What do you mean, Castle?"Beckett asked.

"I mean that you're still going through a lot of pain. We both are, really. And we may talk about it with Dr. Burke but we don't talk much about it with each other." Castle sat up and Beckett moved to face him. "We're going to be husband and wife, two halves of one whole. I know from past mistakes that it is more important for us to talk to each other than it is to talk to Dr. Burke or anyone else. If you're in pain. I want to know about it and I hope that you'll want to know about mine. Hiding things, especially important things, that's what cracks the whole into pieces and I don't think I could bear for that to happen to us. So yell at me, get mad, break something, whatever you need to do, but can you promise me you won't keep your silence?"

Beckett drew a trembling breath. What Castle was asking fought against over ten years of hiding behind self-erected barriers. Many of those barriers had come down, but he was asking her to open herself up in a way she could not remember doing since her mother's death. But it was time and if there was one person trusted, it was Castle. "I'll promise if you will," she told him.

"I do," Castle agreed, "and I'll do it again. I'm going to write it into my vows."

Beckett stroked his cheek. "Then I will too."

Castle pulled her against him again, whispering as he laid a kiss against her temple, "Two halves, one irretrievably noisy whole."


	63. Chapter 63

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 63

The mattress on which Beckett awoke was hard and lumpy with an itchiness born of stray strands of coarse hair. But Castle was there sleeping next to her. She could smell his distinctive scent and feel the warmth the radiating from his body, a body that was on top of an arm that had gone almost completely numb. Looking over she realized that her wrist was encased in steel. "Castle, wake up!"

Castle's eyelids didn't lift, but he rose slowly to semi-wakefulness. "Don't get up, stay in bed."

"Castle," Beckett called, urgency now tinging her voice. "We're handcuffed!"

Castle opened his eyes. "Mmmm, we don't usually fall asleep that way. Oww, these aren't our fun cuffs. These are your police cuffs. What happened?"

Beckett grunted in frustration. "I don't know, but let's sit up. My arm's asleep." They raised themselves, awkwardly bringing their joined arms over their heads to the front.

"Left to left," Castle observed. "Not my choice of configuration." Beckett squirmed and rubbed her arm. "Pins and needles?" Castle asked. Beckett nodded painfully and Castle used his large hand to try to restore her circulation.

Beckett looked down. "My badge and my gun are gone, my phone too."

"My phone's gone too and so's my watch," Castle complained.

"Do you remember anything?" Beckett asked.

"It's all fuzzy," Castle replied. "I think we were drugged."

"Yeah, I think so too," Beckett agreed. "Lift my top and look at my back. Something hurts there."

"There's definitely a puncture wound," Castle reported caressing the sore spot. "It's big, like it came from a blowgun."

"We need to figure this out. What's the last thing you remember?" Beckett asked.

"Mmm, we were in bed," Castle recalled. "I was just going to - and damn, the phone rang."

"I remember," Beckett agreed. "Dead body in a motel room. Lanie and Espo were there and they were fighting. They tried to pretend they weren't when we came in."

"Kind of sad," Castle commented. "Sort of reminds me of the way we used to be. They really want to be together but they keep pushing each other away. I hope it won't take a bullet to bring them together."

"They'll work it out, one way or another. But we're drifting off the subject. Espo said the victim was a white male in his late thirties. Housekeeping found him when they came to clean the room," Beckett recalled. "Lanie wasn't sure of the cause of death. She saw signs that he'd been smothered but there was also a puncture mark."

"That's right!" Castle remembered. "It looked a lot like the one on your back. And someone had burned off his fingerprints. They didn't want him identified. Lanie thought there might have been a chance of recovering the prints. How about his registration at the motel?"

Beckett's brow wrinkled as she reached for the memory before she chuckled. "He was registered as Jack Sparrow."

"There's a possibility that could have been his real name." Castle suggested.

Beckett looked at him skeptically. "I think Espo said he was running it just in case. Also he said the desk clerk said the guy looked nervous when he checked in."

"Uh huh, and Ryan said he was going to check on missing persons. He also asked me if he spent Thanksgiving at his parent's house, did it mean he had to spend Christmas with Jenny's family."

"Castle, what does that have to do with the case?" Beckett asked.

"Nothing," Castle replied, "but it seems like I have to remember things in order. Anyway, I'm glad that we can get your father and my mother in one place. It should simplify things for the wedding."

"We'll see," Beckett responded doubtfully. "Nothing is ever simple with us." She stretched stiffly and started to stand, jerking on Castle's wrist. "Whoa there," Castle cautioned. "We need to move together. Where did you want to go?"

"I think there's a light switch on that wall," Beckett answered, squinting through the darkness of the room."

"This is awkward," Castle commented as they tried to synchronize their movements. "Whoever handcuffed us could have at least done it Midnight Run style."

"Somehow I don't think they were interested in our comfort." Beckett flicked the switch.

The walls were of thick dark stone, with streamers of mildew where dampness seeped in. The only object in the room besides the mattress was a chest freezer. "I think I liked this place better in the dark," Castle observed. "If I were writing about this place in a book, nothing good would happen here."

"Don't go down that path right now." Beckett advised. "Can you remember what happened after Ryan and his holiday problems?"

"Um, yeah! The morgue. We saw Lanie at the morgue. I was trying to get her to tell me what she and Espo were fighting about and she kept telling me it was none of my business."

"It was none of your business, Castle," Beckett pointed out.

"Well maybe," Castle conceded, "but they're our friends and I wanted to know anyway. Maybe I could have offered some sage advice. But anyway, Lanie wasn't giving me anything personal. I remember you asked her about restoring the fingerprints and she said it would take a couple of days and was iffy. And..."

"She found a piece of paper in his pants!" Beckett finished. "It was a note about meeting someone at four P.M. at the Canbury Cafe. Ryan and Espo took our vic's picture to show around there and see if anyone could I.D. him. Then you looked at the envelope and found..."

"A postal bar code!" Castle exclaimed. "We went to the address we got from the postal bar code."

"Right," Beckett agreed. "It was a house in Queens. We went in and we heard someone calling for help. There was an old woman in a cage. We tried to help her and - that's all I remember."

"Yeah, me too, until we woke up here. Someone at that house must have drugged us," Castle speculated. "Beckett what do you think's in that freezer?"

"Castle, I'm not sure I want to know. Right now I'm more interested in getting out of here," Beckett decided. "Whoever drugged us might be coming back."

Castle examined the room for possible avenues of escape. The door appeared to be barred from the outside and there were no windows.

A stray beam of light caused Beckett to look up. "Castle there's a hatch up there."

"It's too high to reach," Castle objected.

"Maybe I could reach it if I stood on your shoulders," Beckett proposed. "I did it it before when we found that hidden room in the house you thought was haunted."

"You never proved it wasn't," Castle reminded her. "Anyway we weren't handcuffed together then and you were wearing sneakers. As turned on as I am by the heels on your boots, I don't think I want them digging into my shoulders, at least not in this venue."

"Okay, help me pull them off," Beckett conceded.

"Lift up my top, pull off my boots, under other circumstances I'd enjoy this," Castle quipped, grasping her boot.

Beckett stroked the back of his hand. "We can try that game when we're out of here. I'm going to try climbing up you now."

Castle breathed in sharply as Beckett awkwardly made her way upward, finally gaining a rocky purchase. "We could use this as an act in the charity celebrity circus," Castle suggested.

Beckett stretched her fingers toward the hatch. "Castle, I can't reach it. It's..." The hatch slid open revealing a face with a satanic leer. Beckett toppled from Castle's shoulders and they both crashed heavily downward.


	64. Chapter 64

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 64

The thin mattress did little to break their fall against the stone floor. The impact knocked the breath from their lungs and most of the thought from their minds. "Beckett, are you all right?" Castle asked when he was able to speak again.

Beckett groaned. "I think so. You?"

Castle moved experimentally. "Bruised but unbroken."

"We still need to get up there," Beckett resolved. "We just need to get a little higher."

Castle winced as the pulled themselves up to sit. "And how do you propose to do that?"

Beckett pulled Castle to his feet. "We stand on the freezer. Help me get it over here."

The execution of Beckett's proposal proved to be an exercise in frustration, the position in which they were cuffed making it very difficult to exert any force on the stubborn appliance. "Maybe you should try it from behind," Beckett suggested.

"I don't think you've ever wanted me to do that before," Castle teased, "but I'm game. Wow, it feels like this thing is full of rocks," Castle complained when the freezer still refused to budge. "Maybe we should empty it."

"Good idea, Castle," Beckett returned, except that it's locked.

"Oh yes," Castle agreed, "but that's a combination lock and I studied with one of the best safe crackers in the business so I could have Derrick Storm break into one."

"Castle I remember that book, not one of your most recent works. When did you study?"

"Um," Castle mused, "I think Alexis was ten."

Beckett sighed, picturing Castle's now eighteen year old daughter. "I guess we don't have any better options. Give it a shot."

It became immediately obvious that Castle's skills were rusty at best and Beckett's shoulder ached from extending her arm so that Castle could manipulate the lock. "Can I have my hand back for a minute?" she requested.

"Sure, I'm sorry," Castle apologized. "I thought I could do this a lot faster. I think I almost had it."

"It's all right Castle, I just need a little break," Beckett assured him, rubbing her shoulder.

"You want to talk about something else for a minute?" Castle offered.

"We're chained together in a dungeon. What do you want to talk about?" Beckett inquired grumpily.

"How about the wedding? You had a fitting for your dress yesterday, didn't you? How'd it go?"

Beckett shook her head slightly, trying to change gears. "It was fine. You know it was my mother's dress. There wasn't much to change. We were almost the same size. The seamstress is just taking in the waist a little."

Castle's eyes focused in the distance as imagination took hold. "I'm sure you'll look beautiful. Jenny's mother called about place cards. She's doing them all by hand. She took a calligraphy class just to get them perfect. I bet she's got a massive case of writer's cramp."

Beckett smiled sadly. "She's doing it out of love. I wish my mom was around. She would have loved to get involved - not with things like place cards, but she was a whiz at logistics."

Castle cupped Beckett's face. "Like her daughter."

Beckett nestled into his hand for a moment before straightening up. "Enough of a break. Back to work Castle."

Castle attacked the lock with renewed vigor. As he heard the faint click of the last number of the combination, the mechanism released. He and Beckett hesitated before lifting the lid. "Do you think there might be bodies in there?" Castle wondered.

"We've both seen bodies before, Castle," Beckett declared, "let's do it."

They pushed back the lid to see a cavern full of chains and knives. Blood stained some of the blades. Castle swallowed hard. "This is worse than a body."

Castle tried in vain to pick the lock of the handcuffs with one of the blades, but stopped when he and Beckett heard sounds from behind a wall. "What is that?" Castle asked.

Beckett shook her head. "I don't know. It sounds like breathing or crying. Maybe there's another prisoner. We should try to find out."

Castle looked at her skeptically. "How do we do that?"

"That's stucco, not stone," Beckett explained pointing at part of the wall. "We should be able to kick a hole in it. Help me put my boots back on."

"Yeah, yeah, there's always the aftermath," Castle teased.

Positioning themselves as best they could on the floor Beckett and Castle synchronized their attack on the wall. Beckett's heels had soon made considerable dents in the surface. "You know Beckett, I've always enjoyed your legs, now I respect them," Castle joked. "Considering how fierce you are on your back like that, I'm glad you like to be on top."

Beckett suppressed a laugh. "Concentrate Castle, we're almost through."

As dents and cracks became a hole, scratching and panting could be heard from the other side. Castle and Beckett kicked harder until they were shocked to a halt by a growl. "What was that?" Castle exclaimed, pulling himself off the floor, forcing Beckett to move with him. He peered through the opening into a furry snarling face. "It's a tiger!" he screamed, his voice rising an octave, "and it almost ate my face."

Beckett put a calming hand on his arm. "I've been tempted to do that a couple of times myself. But don't worry, Castle, it won't get through that wall." Even as she spoke, her words were belied as wood cracked and stucco flew under the tiger's claws. "We need to block that hole!"

Desperately they tried to push the now mostly empty but still heavy freezer against the ever widening opening, but the tiger won the race and sprang free. "Kate, get in the freezer," Castle yelled.

"Castle, it'll latch, we'll smother to death," Beckett argued.

"We can jamb one of those knives into the lock," Castle countered. "Just get in." Castle grabbed a large blade and helped Beckett climb in before following her. He shoved the knife where it would prevent engagement of latch and tucked Beckett beneath his arm so they could lay entwined. They could hear the tiger prowling the room and swiping its paws against the surface of their makeshift refuge.

"How long do you think it will be before we have to lift the lid enough to get some air?" Beckett asked.

"I don't know," Castle replied. "I guess we'll find out when we start gasping. As least we'll get in some cuddle time. You know, your hair still smells really good."

Faced with a choice of laughing or crying, Beckett started to giggle.


	65. Chapter 65

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 65

"Has either of you seen Beckett?" Gates asked sticking her head in the break room.

"She's probably following up on a lead," Esposito replied with Ryan quickly nodding in agreement.

Gates eyes narrowed. "Don't think that I don't know that you guys cover for each other."

Ryan's face was a mask of blue-eyed innocence which Esposito tried unsuccessfully to copy.

"Any progress on our John Doe?" Gates inquired, letting her detectives' act go by.

"Yeah," Esposito reported, glad of the change in subject. "Turns out he was at the Canbury Café yesterday and he wasn't alone."

"Waitress recognized him immediately," Ryan continued. "said he sat in a corner booth, met with another guy, long hair, goatee. Said our vic looked nervous."

"We have waitress working with a sketch artist to come up with a sketch we can use for canvass," Esposito finished.

Gates nodded. "Good. Keep me apprised."

"Ryan, where do you think Beckett and Castle are?" Esposito asked. "They were out of here this morning."

Ryan smiled and shook his head. "Bet Beckett's got stuff to do for the wedding. I know Jenny does. She's been taking off work and running around like crazy."

Esposito looked doubtful. "Wedding or no wedding, it's not like Beckett to take a break in the middle of a case. I'm gonna call her."

"What?" Ryan asked as worry clouded Esposito's eyes.

"Beckett's not answering and neither is Castle. Something's wrong, bro."

* * *

><p>Castle drew Beckett as close to him as he could. "Kate, you're sweating."<p>

"I'm not crazy about small spaces, Castle," Beckett confessed.

"You're claustrophobic?" Castle asked in surprise. "I've never noticed that about you."

"Not claustrophobic, Castle," Beckett explained. "It goes back to when Maddie and I were at Stuy. We thought it would be fun to sneak into the boys' locker room and look around. It was much older than the girls' facility, cause you know Stuy started out as an all boys school. There was a lot of history there we didn't have. Plus we wanted to see what it smelled like. Anyway, we mistimed it. The boys came back and we hid in lockers."

"I don't know why," Castle commented. "The boys probably would have been glad to see two ravishing beauties like you and Maddie."

Beckett gave a little snort. "Believe me, we both looked a lot different as high school freshmen. I think that was our grunge period. Anyway, the boys took their time and I found out just what the inside of a locker smelled like. So since then, I like a little breathing room."

"Yes, having some experience with the smell of boys' lockers, I can understand," Castle sympathized. "I guess I'll just have to distract you. We can maneuver around a bit."

Castle shifted until their lips were close. The kiss was meant to comfort and sooth, but quickly grew in intensity as the sounds of the tiger's growls penetrated their haven. With adrenaline, came desperation. Motion was almost impossible within their confinement, but the cravings for touch, for taste, overcame them and they clung, buried in each other, while the tiger prowled.

* * *

><p>Esposito gazed at Beckett's empty desk. "Still not back yet?" Ryan asked.<p>

Esposito shook his head.

"Maybe they really are running down a lead," Ryan offered.

"What lead?" Esposito asked. "There's nothing new on the board except the sketch of the guy with the goatee, and they haven't seen it. They're still not answering their phones, either. Beckett would never go this long without checking on a case. We need to check the transponder on Beckett's car."

"Transponder says Beckett's car is right here," Ryan said as they pulled up next to a marked unit under some elevated tracks. He glanced through the window. "Yeah, that's definitely Beckett's car."

Esposito opened his door. "I don't see her." Leaving their unit, they circled Beckett's vehicle. "No sign of Beckett or Castle."

Ryan sighed. "Looks like it's been dumped."

"Yeah," Esposito agreed. "Call it in. Wait, look, there's a security camera. I'm gonna try to get the video footage."

The large screen in Tech showed the area where Ryan and Esposito had found Beckett's car. "Time stamp puts this at five hours ago," Esposito noted as Beckett's car pulled in.

"But that's not Beckett or Castle," Ryan observed. "And he's not alone." He pointed to a truck pulling in to pick up the driver of Beckett's car. "We better get Gates."

"You should have told me about this sooner," Gates chastised the two detectives as she regarded the video. "Do we have any idea who those people are?"

"No clue," Esposito responded unhappily.

"Can we get a plate number?" Gates demanded impatiently.

Ryan manipulated the zoom, but finally shook his head. "Too far away."

"We also ran Beckett's and Castle's cells," Esposito added. "They're off the grid."

Gates stared angrily at the screen. "What did Castle get her into now? I want CSU to go over that car with a fine tooth comb for any possible trace evidence. They were working the John Doe with you. Where could they have gone?"

"Been over it a dozen times and we still don't know," Ryan answered, discouraged.

"Still no hits on the long haired man from the café," Esposito added.

"Do whatever it takes to get an I.D. on that victim," Gates ordered. "And find out what the hell he was into. If Beckett and Castle are still out there, they're running out of time."

* * *

><p>"Castle," Beckett murmured. "I'm getting a little lightheaded."<p>

"Just now?" Castle asked. "I got lost in a fog when we started kissing."

"Yeah, well, me too," Beckett confessed, "but that's not what I mean. I think we're running low on air. Maybe we could raise the lid a little, let some in and see what the tiger is doing. I don't hear any growling."

"Okay," Castle agreed. "Try to sit up a bit." They cautiously pushed upward. As a ray of light penetrated, Castle peered through the crack. "Damn cat went to sleep," he reported back. "It's even snoring a little."

"Let me see," Beckett insisted, shifting position. "It actually looks kind of sweet."

"Until it wakes up and eats us. You want to open this thing up, try to move around a little, and get some air while we can?" Castle suggested.

"Please," Beckett agreed.

They opened the lid all the way and stood up. Beckett spied the pile of knives they'd removed from the freezer. "Castle, we could try to kill it."

"Beckett, seriously? And if it wakes up? You'd be bringing a knife to a gunfight or more accurately a mauling," Castle protested.

"We should at least have a couple of those, besides the one in the lock, to defend ourselves in case whoever took us comes back," Beckett insisted. "I'm going to get them."

"What if the tiger wakes up again while you're out there?" Castle worried.

"I'll be quiet," Beckett assured him. "It will only take a minute."

Castle pointed to their joined wrists. "It's not as if you can go alone."

"Right," Beckett conceded. "I forgot for a minute, but come on Castle, we can do this. Out and back in. Thirty seconds, tops."

"Alright," Castle agreed grudgingly, "but if that thing eats me, I'm going to be really upset."

They climbed out of the freezer as stealthily as they could while trying to keep eyes on the sleeping cat. As they approached the pile of sharpened steel, the tiger opened its eyes.


	66. Chapter 66

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 66

The tiger stretched sleepily. Beckett grabbed two large knives and she and Castle returned to the freezer as fast as they could. "Oh, my heart is pounding," Castle exclaimed,"and not in a good way. Don't make me do that again."

"I won't," Beckett promised, "but at least now we're armed. I feel better."

"Oh, well, you feel better," Castle replied, still breathing heavily. "Alright then. I guess that was worth risking being tiger kibble. So now what?"

"I don't know," Beckett admitted.

* * *

><p>"Oh c'mon Lanie," Esposito protested. "There's gotta be something else about this guy from his autopsy."<p>

"Sure," Lanie retorted angrily, "he was in the beginning stages of heart disease, he had a degenerative hip condition and mild scoliosis, probably from sitting too much. The last thing he had to eat was a pastrami sandwich. None of that will get you an I.D.."

"His hands were calloused suggesting physical labor yet he spent too much time sitting?" Ryan questioned.

"Maybe he drove a fork lift," Lanie returned. "I don't know."

"C'mon!" Esposito responded in frustration. "We need something now!"

"Then I can't help you," Lanie spat back.

"Lanie," Esposito pressed. "They're out there somewhere and God knows where or what kind of trouble they're in."

"You don't think I want to help?" Lanie protested. "They're my friends too. I'm Kate's maid of honor."

Ryan held out a restraining hand toward Esposito. "Lanie, you said something about being able to recover the fingerprints."

"It's too soon," Lanie objected. "I might damage them."

"Might," Ryan repeated. Then you might not," Ryan cajoled. "Please Lanie, it's the only lead we've got."

* * *

><p>"How're you doing Castle?" Beckett asked, cuddling close trying to avoid lying against her knife.<p>

"I'd be better if we hadn't just heard the tiger jump on top of this thing," Castle answered. "I just hope it decides to move before we run out of air again."

"Yeah, me too," Beckett agreed. "maybe we can figure out a way to make it move."

"Oooh, Alexis was taking care of a friend's cat, Coco, once. It always howled when Alexis played one song. Coco hated it!"

"What song?" Beckett queried.

"_Umbrella_ by Rihanna," Castle answered. "Every time she sang 'ella ella,' Coco took off."

"Seriously, Castle?"

"You have a better idea?" Castle returned.

Beckett rolled her eyes and started to sing.

* * *

><p>"Javi, I can feel your impatience all over my backside," Lanie complained, "and rushing me has never been a good idea."<p>

"We're talking about the print, right?" Esposito confirmed backing away.

"Damn it!" Lanie exclaimed.

"What?" Ryan and Esposito asked together.

Lanie pursed her lips in frustration. "I tore it. It must not have been soft enough. It's ruined."

"Is any of it usable?" Ryan inquired hopefully.

"Maybe some from the middle," Lanie speculated. "Why?"

Ryan and Esposito stood at the smart board with Gates. "So what we did, we were able to join the partials from that piece of paper with the pieces that Lanie recovered." Ryan manipulated the pieces on the screen. He pushed a few keys and brought up a commercial driver's license. "The vic's name is Hank Spooner. He's an independent trucker out of San Antonio. Owns and operates his own rig."

"What was he doing in New York?" Gates asked.

"According to his folks," Esposito continued. "he got a contract to pick up a load from Del Rio Texas and bring it to New York. Last they heard from him was two days ago."

"What was the cargo?" Gates questioned.

"All Spooner told them he got a last minute call from a special client who would pay him big money," Ryan informed her.

"His folks also told us that it was unusual for Spooner to stay in a motel, and even more so in the city." Esposito added. "He usually stayed in his rig. He thought it was safer and cheaper."

"We need to find that vehicle. Get out an APB to all the major truck stops," Gates ordered. "If we're lucky, it may tell us why somebody wanted Hank Spooner dead."

A grungy man with long hair and a goatee stepped into the room carrying a sketch from the murder board. "I think I may be able to answer that."

* * *

><p>Beckett coughed. "Castle, I don't think I can sing that song anymore. It's not working anyway."<p>

The top of the freezer depressed as the tiger tensed before springing to the floor. "Au contraire," Castle announced proudly. "The tiger was just more patient with Rihanna than Coco was. Eventually even it got disgusted. You know, we can't just keep calling it 'the tiger.' We need a name."

Beckett smiled in spite of herself. "What do you want to call it, Castle?"

"I was thinking maybe Victoria," for Captain Gates," Castle proposed.

"How do you know it's a she?" Beckett asked.

"Does it matter?" Castle returned. "Gates likes to be called sir, anyway."

"Good point. Just don't ever let her hear you referring to the tiger as Victoria," Beckett warned, "assuming we ever get out of here."

Castle stroked her hair. "Hey we're surviving Victoria. We'll be fine. Anyway, we've been missed by now. You know how Gates is when anyone goes AWOL. Ryan and Esposito will track us down."

"Castle, we never told them about the bar code," Beckett protested. "They don't have any clues."

Castle drew her close, nuzzling the back of her neck. "Have a little faith, Kate. They've been trained by the best, Montgomery and you. They'll figure it out. Besides, Ryan will never let us get away before the wedding. Jenny would kill him."

Beckett laughed. "She would at that."

Grungy man held up the sketch. "Were you looking for me? Chuck Martinez, DEA."

"Let's take this to my office," Gates suggested. "How did you know we were looking for you, Agent Martinez?" She queried when they got settled.

"We had Spooner's files tagged. He's a person of interest, so when you ran his prints, I got notified." Martinez explained.

"Why did you meet with him yesterday?" Esposito asked.

"Your man's dead," Gates declared, when Martinez hesitated. "We don't have time for jurisdictional games, so I'll ask you again. What's your interest in Spooner?"

"All right, Martinez agreed. "Look, half a dozen times a year Spooner takes a contract from Texas to New York, but he always makes a pickup in Del Rio. It's a little border town."

"You think he's smuggling drugs from Mexico?" Esposito questioned.

"Cartels are really active in these towns," Martinez responded. "They're extremely brutal."

Ryan's brow wrinkled in confusion. "And if you knew Spooner was involved why didn't you arrest him?"

"All the signs were there, okay?" Martinez replied defensively. "But all we had him on was suspicious activity, and we don't want the errand boy. We want the people he works for."

"How'd you end up at that café?" Gates asked.

"Needed some leverage," Martinez explained. 'So we set up a sting with someone posing as runner looking to hire him to move some product, only Spooner made my guy. Now, instead of running, he wanted to meet. And he was scared. He wanted out and he was afraid of what they would do to him if he walked away. So he agreed to tell us everything if I guaranteed him safety and I took that to my bosses. They agreed."

Gates grimaced. "But by then he was already dead."

Martinez nodded. "Right."

Officer LT knocked on the glass of Gates' door and held up a file. Gates excused herself.

"So where were your colleagues when they went missing?" Martinez asked gently."

Ryan shook his head in frustration."We don't know. We just know they were on the case. Do have any information about where the cartel might take them?"

"Sorry," Martinez informed him regretfully. "As far as we know, the players we've been watching don't have a location to hold prisoners in this area. If they're the ones who took your people, they're probably dead."


	67. Chapter 67

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 67

In the close warm confines of the freezer Beckett had almost fallen asleep when she was startled to alertness. "Castle do you hear voices?"

The Texas accent penetrated through the barred door. "Ma said she wanted them put out again."

"Why don't we just kill 'em?" a second voice asked.

"She wants to make sure she can dispose of the bodies where no one'll find 'em. Says if they find a dead cop, the whole city would be hunting for us. She thinks we'll dump 'em somewhere on the way home."

"I guess that makes sense. I'll cover 'em while you shove the needle in. Shouldn't be much trouble with them cuffed like that."

Beckett could hear the bar sliding. The door opened. "S**t! The tiger's in here." The door slammed and was hastily re-barred. "I'll get the trank rifle." Running footsteps retreated.

* * *

><p>Captain Gates returned as Martinez made his dire pronouncement. "Agent Martinez, are you sure Spooner was smuggling drugs?"<p>

"If I had answers, I'd share," Martinez assured her.

Officer Harrison handed a sheet of paper to Esposito. "What have you got?" Gates asked.

"Weigh bill," Esposito replied. "This is for a delivery Spooner was supposed to have made to a furniture store. Esposito pulled out his phone, confusion growing on his face as he listened. "Store owner confirmed the delivery. But he did say something weird happened. As they were unloading, a box fell off a stack and hit him in the shoulder. He said it must have been empty because it bounced right off. He tried to joke with Spooner, asking him if he was shipping cotton candy or air, but Spooner got all squirrelly. Said it was just a couple of empties packed in there to fill space. The guy didn't think it was a big deal, but then he heard something behind the boxes, sounded like breathing.

"So Spooner takes a few legitimate jobs in order to justify his smuggling trips and places a wall of empties in front of what his real cargo is," Gates concluded.

"Then we can't be talking about drugs," Ryan pointed out. "Drugs don't breathe. He came from Texas. Maybe illegals for sweat shops?"

"It's possible," Gates acknowledged. "Did the store owner have have any idea where Spooner was headed?"

"None," Esposito reported.

Gates sighed. "Beckett and Castle were on to something. Where the hell did they go?"

Esposito grabbed the evidence bag with the address found in Spooner's pocket from the murder board and handed it to Gates. "All we had was this address and we already checked it out."

"Well they must have seen something that you didn't," Gates assumed. She moved to stick the bag back on the board. "Okay, I want you guys to..."

Ryan grabbed the hand in which Gates raised the bag and pointed to the bar code on the flip side.

* * *

><p>"Castle, what do you think is going to happen when those guys come back?' Beckett asked.<p>

"Well you heard them, they're going to trank the tiger. That's a good thing, right?" Castle pointed out optimistically.

"Yeah, but they're also going to trank us," Beckett reminded him. "Then they're going to kill us and dump us on the road. We can't let that happen."

"I'm certainly with you there," Castle agreed. "But do you have a plan to prevent it?"

"Yeah," Beckett replied thoughtfully, "I think I do."

* * *

><p>Gates anxiously picked up the phone. "Did you find them?" she asked.<p>

"No," Esposito reported. "The place was empty, but there was some kind of hatch in the floor. It looked like they were keeping something or someone down there. Also we found some mail addressed to the people who used to live there. We can try to track them down."

"Canvass the neighborhood. Find out what the neighbors saw," Gates ordered. "Someone knows what was going on in that house."

* * *

><p>"Castle, I hear them coming back," Beckett whispered, "are you ready?"<p>

"No, Castle replied, "but I'll do it anyway. How long can you hold your breath?"

"I don't know," Beckett answered, "maybe about a minute. You?"

"A couple, maybe. At least I used to be able to. I was a lifeguard on a couple of summer vacations."

Beckett's brows lifted. "Really, Castle? I would have thought you'd spend your summer hours writing."

"I did, some of them," Castle agreed, "but writing doesn't help you pick up girls."

Beckett rolled her eyes. "I should have known."

* * *

><p>"Report," Gates commanded.<p>

"The bank foreclosed on the previous owners of the house, Bill and Nora Ranford, six months ago, but two weeks ago new neighbors moved in," Ryan informed her.

"Do we know who they are?" Gates asked.

"They kept a low profile," Ryan continued. "But the neighbors think there were two of them, brothers."

"And they noticed their ride," Esposito added. "Black F-150. Same kind of truck that picked up the guy that dumped Beckett's car. They also saw a semi parked there a couple of nights ago."

"So Beckett and Castle were there and so was Spooner," Gates surmised. "There must be a trail somewhere."

"We figure," Ryan told her, "that these people, whoever they are, have specific needs for whatever they're doing. They're using foreclosed properties with basements they can put a hatch in. We're running down those properties now."

"Well do it fast!" Gates declared.

"Yes Sir," Ryan and Esposito both agreed.

Ryan and Esposito prowled the outside of a house. "This must be the fifteenth property we or the uniforms have checked out, Javi. It better be the right one."

Esposito pointed. "It is bro. Look, a black F-150. Call for back-up."

* * *

><p>Beckett and Castle heard the cautious reopening of the door and the whoosh of a tranquilizer dart being fired. "Where the hell are they?" came a Texas drawl."<p>

"Maybe they're in the other room," the other voice answered. "You see anything in there?"

"No. Hey, the lock's off the freezer. They must be in there. If the tiger got'em there'd be some leavings, and there ain't even no blood."

Beckett touched Castle's leg in a signal to get ready. The lid of the freezer lifted. "They're not moving. I don't think they're even breathing," one of the brothers said, sticking his pistol back in the small of his back while his brother lowered his tranquilizer gun. "Damn fools must'a smothered to death."

"Mom's not gonna like that," the second voice agreed "We better tell 'er."

As the two men turned to walk away, they found themselves with sharp blades at their throats. Throw your guns down and kick them away," Beckett ordered.

Ryan and Esposito burst through the door. "Hey guys," Castle greeted them. "Nice to see you."

Beckett and Castle, uncuffed, leaned against Ryan and Esposito's unit. Ryan handed Beckett a box. "So it was all about smuggling endangered species," he explained. "Those goons and their mother raised them in Texas where it's legal and then had Spooner smuggle the animals to New York where their clients brought in their boats."

That's what the knives and chains were for," Beckett realized. "The chains were for the animals and they used the knives to cut up meat to feed them."

Ryan nodded. "We found the box in the house. Your gun and badge, phone are in it, also Castle's stuff. You've already got your cuffs back."

"Oh good!" Castle exclaimed picking out his phone. "I just renewed the contract on this."

Esposito closed his eyes and shook his head.

Castle clapped the two detectives on the shoulder. "Thanks guys, really."

Gates strode up. "Do you two know just how much trouble you've caused the department? From now on I'm instituting a new policy for all detectives. Call in your destination or get written up. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Sir," Beckett agreed, chastised.

"Fine," Gates replied. "I'm glad you two are all right."

"So how did you two get along handcuffed to each other all that time?" Ryan asked as Gates walked away.

"We had a few bad moments," Castle admitted putting an arm around Beckett's waist, "but I can't think of anyone I'd rather be attached to."

"Me either," Beckett agreed, "but next time let's try it with wedding vows instead of cuffs - and without the tiger."


End file.
